


she might even be better at it

by evidenceofthingsnotseen



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: but with a lot more flirting, modeling a short choni au after vanessa and madelaines constant banter, upping the rating because smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-06-16 22:54:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 40,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15447648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evidenceofthingsnotseen/pseuds/evidenceofthingsnotseen
Summary: Toni flirts mercilessly with Cheryl, not expecting it to go anywhere. Cheryl flirts back (for fun because she is definitely not into girls - probably). The whole school starts to think they're hooking up. Maybe they will.





	1. every damn time you get this way

**Author's Note:**

> Before writing this, I just sat down for hours and thought up every bit of banter and flirting dialogue I thought was funny/borderline crazy and then built a story around.

“Stand down, Eva Peron.” All Toni wants to do is get her schedule and get to class, but the voice carries down the stairway, capturing her attention. As does the source of the voice, a teenage dream with red hair cascading down her shoulders.

“There’s the school spirit I so fondly remember.” Jughead’s uncomfortable joke earns a few chuckles from the Serpents standing around them.

“Cheryl, no one invited Fascist Barbie to the party,” Veronica says bitingly. Even without Veronica’s sharply worded introduction, Toni would have recognized Cheryl Blossom anywhere. The Blossoms are the closest thing Riverdale has to royalty; her face along with Jason and their parents were plastered on the front page of the newspaper nine days out of ten since Jason’s shocking demise last summer.

“Wrong, Veronica. No one invited Southside scum to our school.” Toni had only been half paying attention to the verbal exchange, more interested in inspecting Cheryl’s far too short dress. The girl was a walking dress code violation and despite Toni’s best efforts, she could not pull her eyes away until Cheryl addressed them directly.

“Listen up, ragamuffins."

Who does this bitch think she is?

"...I will not allow Riverdale High’s above average GPA to suffer because of classrooms that are overcrowded with underachievers.”

At this, Toni sees red, and it has nothing to do with the Blossom bitch’s dress. She curls her hands into a fist while Cheryl’s insults continue.

“So please, do us all a favor and find some other school to debase with your hardscrabble ways.”

“Why don’t you come over here and say that to my face?” Toni advances, claiming the space between them and challenging the spoiled Northsider. She doesn’t expect Cheryl to step forward as well.

“Happily, Queen of the Buskers.” For the first time, Toni realizes that Cheryl is taller and not totally without muscles. She has no fear, however, because she learned to fight with Sweet Pea and Fangs who are both twice her size. Archie Andrews, the boy who had stood with Jughead, watching as she got arrested during the Southside raid, steps between them. He says something but Toni doesn’t listen. Her eyes are locked on Cheryl’s, waiting for her to make a move. When push comes to shove, Toni is stronger and will win any fight between them but she respects the animosity in her opponent. It’s clear that she hates the Southside and from what Toni knows of the Jason Blossom saga, she has a right to.

The staredown causes Toni to miss what exactly has Sweet Pea stepping up to Archie. She takes a step back and puts a hand in her pocket over her switchblade, hoping she won’t need it and still watching Cheryl. Toni is certain now that their confrontation will not come to blows. If Sweet Pea starts a brawl, she’ll be in it but Cheryl will duck out. One girl, she might fight, but an all out rumble? No way.

Veronica says something about toxic masculinity which makes no sense to Toni since she’s the one that escalated the situation, but the whole scene is soon ended when the Principal intervenes, sending them all to class.

“Where are you headed?” Toni asks the boys, holding up her schedule to compare classes.

“American Lit, we’re together.” Fangs gestures to himself and Sweet Pea.

“Oh, I’ve got AP US History first.”

“With me,” Jughead adds. “Looks like none of our classes are the same except I have a couple with Tiny and the Dynamic Duo have a few together. Do we all have lunch together?”

Once it is confirmed that they do, the group makes a plan to meet up.

“The student lounge at 11:30. Alright, guys, you’re just down that hall there. Come on, Toni.”

“Right behind you, Forsythe.”

“Not funny.”

* * *

 

“Miss Topaz, welcome to Classical and Medieval Literature. I’m Dr. John Watson.” The tall, harried looking man is a human anachronism. Short gray curls burst from underneath his flat cap, which does little to distract from his mismatched shirt and tie, or the fact that his wife obviously irons his jeans.

“You’re a literature teacher named after a literary character?” Toni says without thinking. Dr. Watson turns his head slightly and laughs.

“Not many people catch that, but yes. I even offer a senior elective course on the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Please, take a seat there by Miss Blossom.” Toni braces herself as she turns toward the rows of desks where Cheryl Blossom is staring daggers at her. If she weren’t so angry, she’d be really hot, Toni thinks as she sits down.

A few late arrivals take their seats and Dr. Watson gives an unimpressed look.

“I think we can all agree that third period begins promptly at 10:30.” His sharp tone is a complete one-eighty from the conversation he’d had with Toni just minutes ago. “Now, for the transfer students, we are reading the Epic of Gilgamesh. I’ll give you this weekend to get caught up and then we’ll dive in as a class. For today, just sit and enjoy our lively discussion.”

Riverdale High School is nothing like Southside High. Though it’s an advanced class, Toni can’t believe the way it seems like most of the students have actually done the reading. The books are not tattered and there is no sign of cracked tiles or a leaking roof. She spends most of the hour looking around taking it all in and trying not to stare at the girl in the seat beside her.

Cheryl is a challenge, Toni thinks. A challenge to do what, she doesn’t know, but she’s a challenge all the same and Toni wants to win.

The second Watson says “Class dismissed,” Cheryl is up and out of her seat, hurriedly collecting her things. Toni jumps in front of her and puts her hands down over Cheryl’s notebook, forcing her to look up.

“What do you want?”

“You heard Dr. Watson. I’m a little behind and I might need a tutor,” Toni says sweetly, daring the girl opposite her to question her motives. Immediately, Cheryl look suspicious.

“Why would I want to help you?”

On reckless impulse, Toni leans in as close as she dares. “I could make it worth your time, Red. You’re so uptight, and I could help you loosen up.”

The innuendo is not lost on Cheryl, who looks at her incredulously.

“You threaten to fight me and now you’re flirting with me?”

Toni notes quickly the slight blush on porcelain skin, the way Cheryl doesn’t jump immediately to “sorry, I’m straight.” So she decides to push her luck.

“To be honest, babe. I’m fine with whatever happens as long as it’s you and me, one on one.”

She’s gone too far. Cheryl rips the notebook out from under Toni’s hands.

“Read the damn book yourself, snake.”

Toni internally retracts her earlier thought: even when angry, Cheryl Blossom is hot.

* * *

 

“How are your classes, boys?”

“I hate school, so it’s par for the course, but the air conditioning is nice,” Sweet Pea says between massive bites of his cafeteria lunch.

“And the food is way better,” Fangs adds.

“Take mine, then. I’m not hungry.” Toni slides the tray between them.

“Something got you bothered, Tiny?”

“Yeah, Sweets. Look around. They’re all staring at us.” Sure enough, all over the room Northside kids looked to them in indiscreet glances.

“And Jones has already ditched us,” Fangs says, nodding towards the table where the so-called core four sat.

“Coulda called that. I knew he’d bail on us as soon as we got north of Meridian Street.”

“Lay off him,” Toni demands. “He grew up with these people. He’s only been gone from Riverdale High for a few weeks.”

“Yeah, I guess. Anything interesting in your classes?” Fangs asks.

“If you think Cheryl Blossom is interesting, yes.”

“No way, you have a class with that spoiled brat?”

“Yeah, literature. We sit right next to each other. So that’s fun,” Toni says casually.

“What was that tone right there?”

“Yeah, what’s your deal with her?”

“She’s intriguing…I don’t know.”

“Uh oh. I know what that means,” Fangs sing-songs.

“What are you talking about?”

“Come on, Tiny. You do this every time. I mean I get it, she’s smoking but…” Sweet Pea barely looks up from his tray as he says it.

“Honestly, guys, what the hell are you talking about?”

“You want her. Every damn time you get this way about somebody, you say they’re interesting or intriguing like you have no clue why you can’t think about anything else.”

“It’s like clockwork,” Fangs adds. “In fact, what’s next on the Toni Topaz attraction schedule?”

Sweet Pea looks dramatically at his watch and nods. “Why, Fangs, we’re right on time to see Toni flirt in an inappropriate context.”

Suddenly, the holes in Toni’s jeans require all of her attention.

“Oh my god, you already did it.”  Toni winces. Caught.

“Calm down, Fangs, it wasn’t like serious flirting! Just a couple jokes.”

“What did you say to her?”

“At the end of class, I told her if she tutored me that I’d make it worth her while, help her to not be so uptight...”

“Well, that’s not too bad.”

“Shush, Pea, she’s not finished.” The boys have to lean in to hear the mumbling follows.

“And I basically told her I’d fight her or fuck her so long as it was me and her one on one.”

“Toni, what the fuck.”

“Shut it, Fogarty.”

“Yeah, leave her alone. Let’s go, we have bets to place and I don’t want Toni kicking our asses.”

“Don’t make bets about me!” Toni hisses, to no avail. As the boys walk away, she hears the beginning of a bet.

“I’m saying there’s no way Tiny beds the cheerleader before…”

Cheerleader? She should have known.

A glimpse of red hair in corner of Toni’s eye and before she can stop herself, Toni is walking across the room.

“So, Red, I hear you’re a cheerleader.” Cheryl sighs but stops just outside the cafeteria, waiting for Toni to catch up.

“Are you stalking me? And no, you fiend, I’m not _a_ cheerleader, I’m _the_ cheerleader. Captain of the River Vixens.”

“First of all, the name’s Toni Topaz, not snake or fiend. And second of all, an authority figure? That’s hot, babe.” Toni teases, leaning up against a locker. The eye roll she gets in response is canned and unsurprising.

“First of all,” Cheryl mocks, “the name’s Cheryl Blossom, not Red or babe or any other heinous nickname you can come up with. Second of all, I don’t need you to tell me I’m hot. I already know.” Toni smiles, excited that Cheryl is joining her little game.

“No, Cheryl, everyone in this hallway already knows. Those legs, for one. And what if I wanted to try out for the River Vixens?” Toni should stop, now, before she does something stupid. Like try out for the cheerleading squad.

“Cheerleading isn’t a joke, Topaz. I expect perfection. School policy dictates that I have to let you try out, so you can on Monday, but I doubt you have what it takes.”

“And what if I do?” Toni asks indignantly.

“If, somehow, you prove yourself worthy,” Cheryl steps forward, putting a hand on the locker next to Toni’s shoulder, “you better be ready to sweat, Toni.” The glint in her eye makes Toni grin; it's no longer a one-sided game she's playing.

Cheryl starts to retreat when Toni grabs the hem of her dress. She looks up, searching for any sign of discomfort but finding only a mild curiosity.

“If you wanted me all hot and sweaty, Blossom, all you had to do was ask.”

* * *

 

“Wear these. You won’t be able to get through practice in painted-on jeans and a flannel.”

Toni stares at the shorts and baseball tee, a size too big and plucked from Cheryl’s own locker. Everyone else is changing, Toni realizes, so she pulls off her shirt.

“Wait, painted-on jeans?”

“Yeah, it means-”

“I know what it means, Bombshell. Just didn’t realize you spend so much time staring at my ass.”

“I don’t, I haven’t,” Cheryl splutters. “Just because I noticed your jeans doesn’t mean I was staring. How do you even have room for all that ego in such a tiny frame?”

“Years of practice, babe.” Toni pulls up the knee high socks and stands straight. “Are you ready?”

Cheryl looks her over and regains her cool.

“Enjoy this moment, serpent. You’re never going to be in a Vixens outfit again.”

* * *

 

“Come on, Cheryl, this is way more than you made any of the rest of us do. She’s in.” Josie is bored, like the rest of the Vixens, of the veritable decathlon Cheryl has put Toni through. For the last hour, they’ve done nothing but sit on the gym floor and watch.

“She hasn’t kissed anyone yet,” Betty jokes. Veronica laughs and presses a lipstick kiss to Betty's cheek, while Toni lifts her head from the floor where she’s doing her seventieth pushup.

“Is that all it takes, Bombshell? 'Cause you know I can put on a show for you,” she huffs. Even with the conditioning she does regularly to keep in fighting shape, Toni’s strength is wearing thin.

“Pull ups,” Cheryl declares, ignoring the tangent her cousin has started. “Fifty pull ups and you’re in.”

“Fine, but it’s a little warm in here so I’m losing the uniform.” Toni’s drenched in sweat, so she pulls off the cotton shirt that’s been clinging to her since the wind sprints she had run.

Toni saunters over to the pull up bar, taking a minute to breath. She jumps to reach the bar.

“One, two, three, four, five….” A few minutes in, Toni is looking like the cat who ate the canary. Just feet away, Cheryl is staring slack jawed at her newly exposed abs and the sweat rolling down her skin.

“…eleven, twelve, thirteen...” Cheryl’s gaze drops lower and Toni knows she’s zeroed in on the scar just inside her hipbone, where a Ghoulie with a switch had caught her unawares last spring. The result was an ugly two-inch scar from a wound which Ma Fogarty had stitched together as best she could with a dental floss, but the experience had earned Toni a lot of respect from the Elders.

“…twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight…”

She makes it to forty without even a thought of stopping. Then she gets cocky. With Cheryl’s gaze still burning into her, Toni releases her right hand.

“What is she doing?” Veronica already has her phone in her hand as she says it.

“She’s giving up,” Josie says cynically.

“If she were quitting she would have just dropped,” Betty disagrees.

Silently, Toni completes five pull ups with only her left arms.

“Crazy bitch.” Her arm is burning and Toni is starting to think Veronica may be right.

 Everyone in the room holds their breath as she switches arms.

“…forty-six, forty-seven, forty-eight, forty-nine, fifty.” She lets herself drop, hoping the wobble in her sore legs isn’t too obvious and moves over to Cheryl, who is still staring at her like she’s going to eat her alive.

“So what do you say, Captain?” Toni whispers lowly, trying to impart as much innuendo as six words will allow.

Silence.

“Fine, you’re in. Practice tomorrow at six a.m.”

In the locker room, Toni nearly dives into the ice bath. The girls change and trail out one by one until only Toni, Cheryl, and Veronica remain.

“God, I don’t know how you can stand that cold.” Veronica shudders.

“I suspect our fearless captain is going to be the cause of a lot of cold showers for me, Lodge,” Toni teases, winking at Cheryl as she exits the locker room. Veronica waits a second for the door to shut.

“What is that all about, anyways? Because if you’re just playing get-the-virgin, I’m gonna have to tell you to back the hell off. My girl has been through enough this year.”

“Virgin?” Toni nearly shouts.

“You didn’t know? Bombshell has never seriously dated someone. She flirts, and occasionally makes out with Mantle at parties, but Cheryl is a little old fashioned. I doubt she will until after _I do_.”

“You mean I gotta marry this girl if I want to hook up with her?” Toni jokes. Immediately she wants to take it back, and the glare Veronica shoots her makes her wish she could.

“Not funny."

"You're right, that was bad. I'll lay off her." Despite the fun, Toni would never want to make someone truly uncomfortable.

"Anyways, she’s straight.”

“I respect that. But if Cheryl is straight, so are we.”

“How did you…?”

“Come on, Lodge. You’re not exactly closeted. That photo from New York Pride, the bi flag painted on your cheek? It was on your Instagram." Toni climbs out off the ice tub and starts to towel off before changing into her street clothes.

"You've seen an Instagram post of mine from like a year ago?" Veronica looks suspicious, but doesn't deny that the photo exists, or what it implies.

"Yeah, well I've been following you since you got here to Riverdale. Sue me if I went a few months back." It's a lie and Veronica knows it. What she doesn't know is that just like Joaquin being assigned to Kevin, the Serpents assigned Toni to Veronica. She'd stalked all her social media and laid in wait in case the Lodges didn't pay up.

"You didn't just follow me randomly, Topaz."

"Then why, Veronica, do you think I followed you?" Make it a joke, Toni knows, and it'll throw her off.

"You thirst followed me!" Veronica accuses, grinning. That'll work.

"Yeah, Lodge. But don't broadcast it. I'd hate for that redheaded dummy you date to try fight me."

"Archie wouldn't hit a girl, especially over something like that."

"Good to know. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to get to work." Toni makes her way to the door when Veronica calls after her.

"Toni!"

"What?"

"She'll play your game, if she knows you're just kidding around. She might even be better at it."

* * *

 

"She's late."

"Practice doesn't start for another five minutes," Betty says, looking at the clock.

"You think she can change that fast, Cousin?" Cheryl snaps. Betty puts up her hands and turns back to her locker.

"Sorry I'm late!" Toni bursts through the door with her shirt already over her head, the same shirt she'd been wearing yesterday.

"You reek of booze, Topaz. If you're going to party, do it on a weekend." Cheryl cannot stand for the girls on her squad to reflect poorly on the Vixen name.

"I just got off work, Cheryl. Leave me alone.” The rushed lie, thrown out as Toni strips off her boots annoys Cheryl even more.

“It’s illegal for school-aged minors to work third shift. What’s your next excuse?”

Toni looks at Cheryl like she’s lost her entire mind.

“The people I work for,” Toni says, pointing to the black snake curled up her ribs, “they don’t exactly care about what’s legal and what isn’t.”

Right. She’s a Serpent. She was probably knocking over liquor stores. Not that Cheryl cares, she’s just…curious.

“Where do you work?” she asks as Toni straightens up, appraising herself and her uniform in the mirror.

“I tend bar at the Whyte Wyrm. Let’s go.” Toni nods towards the door and Cheryl steps forward with her Vixens following her.

Cheryl runs a tough practice, mostly conditioning in the mornings to prepare for routines in the afternoons. She works hard and takes pride in doing everything she demands of her squad.

All morning, Toni barely keeps up. She’s the last to finish the warm-up mile, last to stick a one-handed roundoff, and nearly falls asleep during wall sits.

“You must really be tired, Topaz. You haven’t flirted with me once,” Cheryl remarks at the end of practice.

“Give me a minute, baby, and I’ll come up with something.” Toni yawns as she grabs a towel and heads for the shower. Cheryl isn’t far behind. To her, there’s nothing quite like a good, hot shower.

At the very end, Cheryl turns the knob all the way back, letting icy water wash over her. It’s a little habit of hers; she likes the way it wakes her up before class. When, finally, she steps out of the shower, wrapped in her towel, she’s greeted with an obnoxious wolf whistle.

“In your dreams, Topaz,” Cheryl says, glancing over to the source of the noise. Toni looks much more alert as she wrings water from her pink hair.

“Absolutely every night,” Toni teases. “Wanna make it reality?”

The other Vixens giggle at her remark and Cheryl feels her cheeks warming up, but their attentions turn quickly back to their own conversations. With a half an hour until classes begin, most of the girls change and touch up their makeup quickly and head for the student lounge. Soon Cheryl is alone in the locker room. She exits the locker room and heads towards the chemistry lab, briefly wondering if she has enough time to run across the street for some coffee.

“Cheryl, wait up.” Toni is leaning against a locker, like a hoodlum her mother would say, holding two iced coffees. She holds one out expectantly and Cheryl accepts it cautiously.

“What’s in it?”

“Iced vanilla latte with four shots, same as mine.” Four shots are a bit excessive but otherwise it’s fine so Cheryl takes a sip.

“So I was hoping we could talk, about something serious,” Toni starts, glancing down at the floor.

“You sound nervous, T.T.” The nickname rolls of Cheryl’s tongue spontaneously, and even though it sounds a little silly, the smile Toni gives is worth it.

“I like that one,” she says softly.

“What is this all about, Toni?”

“Veronica told me I should back off. Stop teasing you and all that,” Toni begins again. She pauses to pop the lid off her coffee and chugs nearly half of it.

“And?”

Toni closes her eyes for just a moment, head facing upward, before returning to the task at hand.

“And I’m saying that if you want me to, I will. I wouldn’t want to make you uncomfortable. I know you’re straight, I know it’s not gonna actually go anywhere. Even if you weren’t straight, you’d never hook up with a Serpent. So say the word, Blossom, and I’ll stop.” It’s obvious that Toni has practiced this little speech.

“You were that kid, weren’t you?” Cheryl asks suddenly, taking a step forward into Toni’s space. Toni’s eyebrows knit together in confusion.

“What kid?”

“You were the kid that pulled on a little girl’s pigtails because you had a crush on her,” Cheryl explains, inching even closer. Toni laughs a little. If she’s affected at all by their shared proximity, she doesn’t let on.

“Yeah, maybe I was. But I don’t actually have a crush on you,” Toni clarifies.

“That’s a shame,” Cheryl says moving forward, leaning so close her lips nearly brush Toni’s cheek, pausing just a split second for effect, “I like having my hair pulled.”

Toni groans and lets her head fall back against the locker, which makes Cheryl laugh. The bell rings and she heads to class stopping only for a second.

“You don’t have to stop. It’s good for my ego.”


	2. a bit of a high wire act

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow i'm fucking tired but posting because i'm fairly happy with how this turned out. hopefully i'll wake up to comments and possibly some more ideas!

One unforeseen side effect of transferring Southsiders to Riverdale High School is a lack of adequate parking. Because of this, Cheryl makes sure to get school very early, even on days when she doesn’t hold morning cheer practice. She parks the cherry-red convertible and sighs. She considers driving to a necessary evil, something she almost never did until last summer. Cheryl had learned to drive and had been given the opportunity to pick out a car, but she had shrugged it off. Jason was going to drive her to school anyway, so having a car of her own seemed frivolous, even for the Blossoms. Every time she got behind the wheel, it reminded her just how much she missed her brother. He had been such a gentleman, always opened the door for her and made sure the top was up if there was even a ten percent chance of rain.

The rumble of motorcycles interrupts Cheryl’s early morning contemplation. Motorcycles, ridden by the same people who had desecrated her dear brother’s body.

Well, not them exactly. Cheryl knew that. F.P. was in prison and if he had any help, they had probably skipped town by now. More than that, nothing F.P. had done was of his own ideation. Cheryl wonders briefly just how much her father had paid for him to keep quiet.

“Morning, darling. Sorry I had to sneak out like that this morning, but you know how it is.” Cheryl nearly jumps out of her skin at Toni’s jibe. The other two, with the strange nicknames stand behind her, laughing, until Cheryl registers what she said.

“Well, you’re a scoundrel but I knew that when I opened my balcony door,” she says smoothly, reaching for her bookbag. Toni takes the cue, opening the car door and holding out her hand.

“You know, not everybody gets that you two are joking when you say stuff like that,” the taller one says. Cheryl straightens up and releases Toni’s hand.

“I might care about your opinion if I knew who you were,” she says coldly.

“Sorry, that’s on me. Cheryl this is Sweet Pea. The other one is Fangs Fogarty.” Toni points to them in succession.

“Tell me that’s not really on your birth certificate.” Cheryl seems to be addressing both boys.

“Honestly, I’m not even sure we have birth certificates,” Fangs answers easily. What a strange life these Southsiders lead.

“Let me and the boys walk you to class?” Toni asks. Cheryl does not particularly want to be seen with the people she’d called scum just days ago, but the school knows that Toni is a River Vixen and that might earn her some leniency for this social faux pas.

“Fine,” Cheryl says simply. “What did you mean, Sweet Pea, when you said not everyone knows we’re joking?”

“Yesterday, Coach Clayton asked me about suiting up for football next year. He likes my size and he thinks putting me in a jersey is gonna put an end to my Serpent ways.”

“Did you tell him a Serpent never sheds his skin?”

“I did, but he told me I could maybe get to college if I play and to think about it. Man doesn’t understand that I’m never going to college. Anyways, I was in the locker room and some guys were talking about you two.”

“Saying what?” Toni hisses, her hands already curled into tight fists. Funny, Cheryl thinks, the last time she’d seen that it was directed at her. It’s been a weird few days.

“Basically, they’re pissed that a Southsider is banging one of their girls. And there was something about not knowing Cheryl swung that way.”

“I don’t, I’m straight.” Cheryl nearly shouts. Fangs gives her a look but it’s Toni that speaks next.

“One of their girls? What the hell decade is this? Are we gonna have to rumble so I can continue _not fucking_ one of ‘their girls’?” On instinct, Cheryl puts a hand on Toni’s arm, symbolically holding her back.

“They’re not gonna be saying anything else,” Sweet Pea assures.

“What makes you say that?” Cheryl asks.

“I told them that Cheryl is her own person and who she cashes in her v-card with is nobody’s business. And then I told them that we’ve been hooking up with their girls since before they were hooking up with anybody and that if push came to shove we could fight about it, but that we’d win and we’d look good doing it and then their girls would be falling all over us.” Sweet Pea punches the words ‘their girls’ every time and bounces on the balls of his feet as he says it, like he’s back in the locker room ready to fight.

“Only you could come up with such a disgusting mix of chivalry and misogyny.” Toni almost sounds proud.

“Just speaking their language.” Sweet Pea shrugs.

Cheryl stays silent until Toni looks to her.

“You okay? ‘Cause we can still stop anytime. In fact, I can turn down the hall and we can never talk again, except for class and cheer practice. I’m not trying to make life hard for you.” Cheryl immediately hates that idea, even if it would make life easier for her.

“No. I’m done with this. Let them say what they want. In five minutes, Veronica is gonna have a get a tear in her pantyhose and they’ll talk about that for the rest of the week.”

“You’re not wrong. These Northsiders are so dramatic,” Fangs agrees.

“You’re speaking to a Northsider. And, you,” Cheryl turns to Sweet Pea, “did you really say all that, verbatim?”

Sweet Pea looks to Toni.

“Verbatim means word for word.”

“Oh, then yeah.”

“Well, thanks for basically confirming the rumors then,” Cheryl says, stopping outside her first period class. The trio of Serpents wait for an explanation. “When you told them that it was nobody’s business rather than categorically denying it. You could have reminded them that I’m straight, that Toni and I nearly came to blows on Monday, or any number of other things. Instead you said it was nobody’s business and then piled on the ludicrous claim that you Southsiders frequently sleep with Northside girls.”

“Oh shit,” Toni breathes.

“Hey, that’s not just a claim. Betty Cooper isn’t the first Northsider to go slumming,” Fangs says slyly.

The bell rings, adding a sense of urgency to the conversation.

“So what are we gonna do?” Toni asks.

“We make it clear to the Vixens that it isn’t true. Half of them date those knuckle-dragging football players, and all of them are the biggest gossips in the school.” Besides herself, Cheryl thinks.

“Right, I’ll just tell them that if we had, I’d already have ‘she _is_ a natural redhead’ tattooed on my forehead.” Toni’s joke breaks the seriousness of the conversation, making the boys double over in laughter. Even Cheryl catches herself chuckling, despite the crudeness of the joke.

“Right, and I’ll tell them I haven’t yet had the pleasure of a Serpent’s forked tongue,” she teases, before disappearing into her class.

Cheryl takes her seat in the front row, where she can see Toni standing, dumbstruck. The warning bell rings and Fangs pulls Toni away with a warning.

“Tiny, you’re fucked.”

* * *

 

“Are they really?” Betty’s incredulous voice carries out of the student lounge to locker bay where Toni is putting away her books, ready for the day to be finished. All day she has gotten stares from her classmates, and despite Cheryl’s insistence that some new drama would capture the school’s attention soon enough, Toni has avoided the redhead wherever she could.

“No way,” Veronica and Jughead say at once.

“Cheryl isn’t into girls.” Veronica’s words make Toni freeze. She does not want to enter the student lounge, likely ending the conversation, and she does not want to leave and miss what people are apparently saying about her.

“Besides, I think it’s more of a running joke. Toni’s kind of a flirt, but she’ll move on to some other guy or girl soon enough,” Jughead says matter-of-factly.

Wrong, Toni thinks. Not when things with Cheryl are so entertaining. Besides, she’s not really looking to actually date someone right now. Between school, work, Serpent duties, and Vixens practice, she has more than enough on her plate.

“I don’t know guys. Reggie seemed pretty sure.” Archie’s tendency to believe his friends would be endearing if his friends weren’t so stupid, or if he knew who was actually his friend.

“Last week Reggie was ‘sure’ he couldn’t get a girl pregnant while high on jingle jangle,” Betty remarks sarcastically. The conversation has turned, so Toni decides it’s safe to enter.

“Hey, guys, what’s up?” she says casually, dropping down into an empty chair. The core four say nothing, seemingly worried that about what Toni might have heard. Betty pokes Jughead and gives him a look, and he sighs but nods anyways.

“Look, Toni, I hate to ask you this but are you…” he trails off weakly.

“Am I what, Jughead?” Toni dares him to finish his sentence. Betty pokes him again. Archie looks to the floor, while Veronica looks like she should have giant popcorn in her lap.

“There’s some rumors that you and Cheryl are…”

“No, we aren’t,” she says flatly. “In fact, Betty and Veronica here have gone farther than we ever will.”

“What are you talking about?” Apparently, Archie was still listening to the conversation.

“Don’t expose me like this, Topaz,” Veronica jokes. “But it’s true. I’ve had my way with the girl next door.”

“It was one kiss!” Betty exclaims, blushing furiously. After a brief explanation for the boys, Toni gets around to making her point.

“Exactly. It was one kiss. Cheryl and I have never and will never do anything of the sort. I just like to mess with her.” Toni shrugs slightly, appreciating for the millionth time the comforting weight of the leather jacket on her shoulders.

“Your sense of humor is a bit of a high wire act, Tiny,” Jughead says uncomfortably.

“And half of it you don’t even get, Jones. Now, for some godforsaken reason the people in this school listen to you guys. Kill this rumor before Cheryl gets hurt.” Without waiting for confirmation or agreement, Toni stands to leave.

“Protective,” Veronica remarks. Toni keeps walking, thinking that someone ought to be.

* * *

 

Despite B and V’s best efforts, some people miss the memo. Midge, in particular, who approaches Cheryl at the next day’s practice. Toni is running late from work again and Midge must not have seen her enter.

“So, Captain, where’s Mrs. Captain?” she asks Cheryl, giggling. Toni’s eyes go wide, waiting for the impact of Cheryl’s response. Instead of blowing up, however, she spots Toni and grins. Toni walks forward, called by Cheryl’s smile but unsure of what is going to happen next.

“She’s right here,” Cheryl says, pulling Toni into her side so close that she can smell her expensive perfume. God has her neck always looked like that, or is it just accentuated by the choker she’s wearing? Toni shakes that thought away, paying attention to Cheryl’s words. “And I was just beginning to worry. Did you have a safe drive in, darling?”

Oh, now she gets it.

“I did, babe. When are you going to let me take you for a ride?” Toni lays it on thick, putting her arms around Cheryl’s waist. Midge raises her eyebrows, but she’s not the only girl watching the exchange now.

“On your motorcycle, never. But if you mean the other kind, I’m free this evening,” Cheryl says in a sultry voice. It is just a joke, Toni reminds herself, trying to combat the heat that curls in her stomach.

“I’ll be there,” she says, hoping she is just imagining the shake in her voice. Cheryl gives her an intrigued look, as if she heard it too. Toni releases her arms and goes to change. She rushes out into the gym and starts running the warmup mile.

Toni pounds her feet into the floor, berating herself. Cheryl was just kidding, so why did it affect her so viscerally?

“God, Topaz, are you trying to wear out your shoes or the floor?” Veronica jogs up next her. Toni says nothing, and Veronica breaks into a run just to keep up. “Seriously, what up with you?”

“I’m fine, Veronica.”

“You know I did warn you.”

“What are you talking about?” Toni slows down a bit to let Veronica speak.

“I told you she’d be better at it. You can make your jokes, but at the end of the day, you’re attracted to her so every joke you make is some manifestation of the truth.”

“She’s hot, but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” Toni huffs.

“Follow the first damn rule and don’t get hung up on a straight girl.” Veronica nods over to where Cheryl is jogging with the rest of the squad.

“Do you know for sure that she’s straight?”

“Well, no but...”

“And are you sure you’re talking about Cheryl and not Betty?” Toni teases.

“I haven’t the faintest idea of what you mean, Antoinette.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Changing the subject. Come to the Pembrooke for a party I’m having Friday after the game. Feel free to bring along those two tall-dark-and-handsomes that are always following you around.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Come on, the only person that might give them trouble is Mantle, and I think Josie is keeping him in line nowadays.”

“I’ll try to make it, but no promises about the boys.”

* * *

 

“Care to let me carry your books?” Toni asks, after meeting Cheryl on her way to literature.

“How fifties of you,” Cheryl answers, already handing over her textbooks.

“So, I heard Dr. Watson is giving us a pop quiz.”

“I heard the same, hope you studied Plato’s The Republic.” Cheryl’s perfect GPA is not going to be threatened by something as trivial as not doing the reading.

“You know that you can write any kind of nonsense on these quizzes so long as Watson thinks the argument is cohesive,” Toni says seriously.

“That’s not true,” Cheryl disagrees.

“It is true, that’s how most English classes are.”

“Prove it.” Toni has always liked a challenge.

“Fine, I’ll come up with the most ridiculous bullshit imaginable for this quiz and show it to you when I get an A.”

“I doubt it.”

“Bet.”

“Fine, what’s the bet?” Toni had not pegged Cheryl for a gambler.

“If I’m right, you have to be my date to Veronica’s party on Friday.” It’s a challenge, one that Cheryl will surely say no to.

“And if you’re wrong, you have to let me buy you something that isn’t black or plaid,” Cheryl counters, surprising Toni once again.

“You accept these terms?”

“With pleasure.”

* * *

 

“Thank you for breakfast, Marie. I’m leaving for school soon, but can you please make sure that Nana Rose takes her medicine?”

“Certainly, Miss Blossom,” Marie assures, leaving Cheryl’s room with the now empty tray. Her phone buzzes on the vanity and Cheryl wonders who would be calling at such an hour as this.

“Hello?”

“Is your mom home?” Toni sounds a little breathless on the other side of the phone.

“No, she isn’t home.”

“Good,” Toni says and promptly hangs up. Cheryl stares at her phone in confusion. Then she hears a faint ping against the glass of her balcony doors. She goes to investigate and sees a small rock fly over the balcony railing, pinging once more against the glass.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Cheryl screeches, once out on the balcony. On the ground, Toni just smiles.

“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!” she shouts, hand on her heart. Cheryl laughs at the dramatics, but counters.

“Ay, me!”

“She speaks! Oh, speak again bright angel!” Cheryl notices for the first time that Toni is rather dashing, in a roguish Romeo sort of way.

“Stop, what are you doing here?” she calls down.

“Oh thank god, I don’t know any more lines. I’m here to drive you to school.” Toni points to her motorcycle, parked at the edge of the drive.

“I am not-“

“If we’re going to fight, at least come down so we can talk instead of yelling,” Toni interrupts.

“Let me get my bag, I’ll be right down!”

Cheryl returns to her room and heads for the staircase when a sudden impulse overcomes her. She turns back, walking through her bedroom back to the balcony. Cheryl swings a leg over the balcony and reaches for the trellis.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Toni runs to the side of the house as she shouts.

“Concentrating, so shut up,” Cheryl hisses. She takes one step down, wedging her shoe in the trellis.

“Gotta say, I’m like the view,” Toni says smugly.

Oh, right. She put on a skirt today.

“Look alive, Topaz. If I fall, I’m expecting you to catch me.”

“Oh, I see. Just ‘cause I wasn’t there when you fell from heaven, now you expect me to catch you every other time.” It’s not Toni’s best line, but it distracts Cheryl enough that she makes it safely to the ground.

“Now, back to our argument. I am not getting on that motorcycle. If you want to go to school together, we can take the car.” Toni looks unimpressed by this idea, at least for a moment, but quickly changes her mind.

“You know this means you’ll have to bring me home tonight so I can get my bike.”

“Fine by me. Come on, the car is in the garage.” Cheryl leads Toni to an outer building behind the poolhouse. Toni pulls the cover off the convertible and opens the passenger door. Instead of getting in, she stands behind the door expectantly.

“I’m driving,” she says simply.

“Can you even drive stick?” Cheryl asks.

“I can, and I’m going to right now. Get in.” Toni taps the door to emphasize her point.

“I cannot believe I am going to let you do this,” Cheryl says, stepping forward. She takes Toni’s hand and lets her guide her into her seat. Toni shuts the door and walks to the other side, taking her place in the driver’s seat.

The engine roars to life and Toni nearly squeals. The Ghoulies may be crazy but she can appreciate the obsession with their classic cars.

“Do you know how much self-restraint it took to not pull a Dukes of Hazzard and slide across the hood?” she says to Cheryl.

“You should have done it.” Cheryl says. Apparently, climbing down the trellis and letting Toni drive was not enough to satiate her hunger for recklessness today.

“Next time I will,” Toni replies. Next time. That’s a nice thought.

“What are people going to think, seeing us like this?” she asks.

“Just one thing to complete the picture,” Toni replies, not really answering Cheryl’s question. Before she can tell her that, Toni puts a hand on her leg, just above her knee.

Cheryl wishes she had picked out pants, leggings, or at least tights so that Toni’s skin wouldn’t be burning against hers right now.

“Say the word, Red, and I’ll be back at ten and two.” Toni says as they pull out onto the street. Cheryl says nothing. Her thigh is still burning, but it’s a good burn that seem radiate through her body.

Toni takes the scenic route to school. Every time she shifts gears, she pulls her hand away from Cheryl’s leg and every time she puts it back, like it was something she did every day.

As they near the school, Toni smacks the dash.

“Shit, I nearly forgot. Look in my bag, the paper in the blue folder.” Cheryl follows her instructions and pulls out the quiz from Watson’s class.

At the top, is a bright red A+.

“He isn’t even giving these back until today.”

“I begged him to grade it early. Read my answer though.” Cheryl scans the page. Of the three prompts, Toni had picked one about the allegory of the cave. Her concise, well-written response was a thousand words of nonsense proving that the allegory was not about enlightenment or education as many argue, but about discovering that one is not straight and subsequently coming out.

“Wow, this is…impressive.”

“It is, and now I’m collecting my prize. You and me, tonight, Veronica’s party.”

“I’m not a sore loser,” Cheryl assures. “You’ll get your prize.”

“I could make you sore,” Toni teases, putting the car in park. “Wait there.”

This time, Toni does jump and slide across the hood. She opens the door for Cheryl and carries both of their bags into the building.

“See you in class, Red.”

“See you.”

* * *

 

“L-E-T-S G-O, LET’S GO, LET’S GO, L-E-T-S G-O, LET’S GO!” The Vixens shout in unison. With half a second on the clock and the Bulldogs down by one, Reggie Mantle is up to the free throw line to collect on two shots. Mantle postures himself to shoot and the gym goes silent. The Riverdale side of the gym stand together, outreaching their arms, shaking their hands to mimic the River Vixens pom-poms.

At the start of the game, Toni hadn’t really cared who won. But now, two hours later with the entire school behind them and having nailed their halftime routine, Toni is feeling caught up in the spirit of it.

Reggie drains the first shot. Tie game. Everyone in the room in their holding breath as he takes his next shot.

The ball is up, up, up, down, and…in.

The opposing team gets possession and makes a Hail Mary shot as the buzzer blares, but it’s no good. The crowd stampedes the floor, as Toni is pulled into a group hug, the entire cheer squad. Veronica leaves lipstick kisses on every cheek she can reach, including Toni’s while the rest of the students scream and cheer. Reggie is sitting on two other Bulldogs’ shoulders, cutting down the net.

“You did good, Tiny,” Sweet Pea says proudly. “Even if you do look ridiculous in that skirt.”

“I can’t believe you two came just to watch me cheer.” Toni’s adoration for her Serpent brothers only grow when they take turns picking her up into breath stealing hugs.

“Here, thought you might want this.” Fangs hands Toni her Serpent jacket as well as a change of clothes, a little nicer than she normally wears.

“How did you get into my locker?” she asks as she pulls on the jacket.

“You don’t really want to know that. But we heard you have a date tonight, so we thought you might want to get showered and changed here, especially since you don’t have your bike,” Sweet Pea explains.

“Thanks, boys.” Toni kisses them each on the cheek and they pretend to be offended, but grin anyway as she makes her way to the locker.

She changes as fast as possible, before any of the rest of the squad are done celebrating out in the gym. Toni braids her hair, making a mental note that her pink is going to need touched up soon.

“You look really good, Topaz,” Cheryl says, surprised. Toni turns around, smug.

“Well, I got a hot date tonight so I have to step it up. Get changed, babe. Veronica’s probably already pouring the fireball.”

* * *

 

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Veronica says upon opening the door. “Drinks are in the kitchen, except the keg which is in the living room. Bathrooms are down the hall and all the bedrooms are locked, because I really do not want to deal with that tonight.”

“I’m going to get a couple drinks for us.” Cheryl navigates across the already crowded dance floor.

“Bringing her as your date? Not the way I would advise for you to get over your little crush,” Veronica jibes.

“It’s not a crush.”

“Okay, like wanting to fuck her is any better.”

“Don’t be crude, Veronica. Cheryl is my friend.”

“An incredibly hot friend.” Cheryl reappears from the kitchen clutching a bottle of whiskey and two shot glasses. She pauses, waiting for Valerie’s drunk ass to walk by. She takes the moment to lock eyes with Toni and cracks open the bottle. She lifts it to her lips and slowly raises the bottle. She swallows once and Toni feels her knees weakening. Cheryl pulls the bottle from her lips and an errant drop of whiskey runs down her neck. Briefly, Toni wonders what it would be like to reach out and wipe it away, to taste it on her thumb.

“I’m going to die.”

* * *

 

Toni should not have let Cheryl pour that many shots for her. She should not have done that, but as Cheryl poured them she also ran a hand through that red hair, which made Toni want to run her hand through that red hair, which made her want to drink.

“Truth or Dare!” Betty shouts, to the seven or eight remaining partiers. They sit in a circle and try to decide who goes first.

“Mantle! The MVP! Truth or Dare?” Archie yells, despite being just a few feet away.

“Dare.” Reggie’s answer is no surprise.

“I dare you to eat thirty maraschino cherries.” Archie hands over the cut glass jar from the Lodge’s well-stocked bar.

Reggie does, and then Josie reveals the truth that Kevin was her first crush. Unfortunate, now that he is nearly a sibling. Josie then dares Veronica to reprise her audition for the Vixens, including the kiss, which she does with gusto.

“Cheryl, truth or dare?”

“Dare,” Cheryl replies assuredly. God, she’s hot when she’s like that. God, Toni hopes she didn’t say that out loud.

“I dare you to kiss the most attractive girl in this circle,” Veronica slurs. Cheryl looks around, inspecting each girl. Eventually she stands and makes her way towards Toni. Toni, whose heart is thundering so hard, she suspects Cheryl can hear it. So, Toni does what she always does and cracks a joke.

“Come on over baby, I’m dying to see if your lips taste like cherries.”

Cheryl leans down low, almost closing in. Toni holds her breath.

“Don’t be so cocky,” Cheryl whispers and promptly turns around and kisses Veronica. Toni has breath in her lungs once again but she cannot hide her disappointment.

“Truth or dare, T.T.?”

“Dare, obviously,” Toni answers Cheryl, still trying to wrap her head around what just happened.

“Same dare as mine, kiss the hottest girl in the circle,” Cheryl challenges. Toni stands, aided by a guiding hand from Archie. She smirks wickedly and steps towards her date. Then Toni has a disturbing thought.

She had the opportunity to kiss you, a free pass, and she didn’t. She doesn’t want that.

“Veronica,” Toni says suddenly.

“God, this is very good for my self-est-”

“Do you carry a compact mirror?” Toni finishes, cutting her off. The group laughs while Veronica produces a mirror, which Toni kisses awkwardly, before sitting down to continue the game.

“Okay, Betty. Truth or dare?”


	3. you two have a weird thing, you know that?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the morning after the party. serpent trouble, and getting patched up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is going to get a little more adult pretty soon so if any kids are reading this, scram

“Wake up, Cheryl,” a voice calls softly. Cheryl stirs, registering the warmth of the blanket around her and sunlight streaming through the window. Still, she’s exhausted so she ignores the voice.

  
“Seriously, Cheryl, we should get up and start waking other people up. I don’t know when Veronica’s parents are coming home,” the voice says.

  
“Toni?” Cheryl asks, still refusing to open her eyes. The snort she gets in response in unladylike and obnoxious. Curiously, Cheryl opens one eye and takes in the sight of her extremely hungover cousin.

  
“You thought I was Toni?” Betty asks, laughing. “You thought you were in bed with her?”

  
“No, I just didn’t think anyone else would have the gall to wake me,” Chery lies. “Why did we sleep in the same bed? How did I even get here?”

  
“Well, after you nodded off on the couch, I carried you in here. We doubled up due to lack of space,” Betty explains. “I thought you might be more comfortable sharing with a family member, given previous experiences.”

  
“You mean Nick.” Cheryl suddenly feels like she’s going to be sick, and she doesn’t know whether to attribute the urge to the memory of Nick or her hangover. Probably a little of both.

  
“Yeah,” Betty says softly. Despite the sweetness of the gesture, Cheryl cannot stand the pity in Betty’s eyes.

  
“You know we’re not really family. We might have some shared genetics, but you don’t carry the Blossom name,” she snaps.

  
“The Cooper name is not a lesser burden, Cheryl. It just comes with a lesser inheritance,” Betty counters. “Besides, we have been a family ever since you took Polly in. Even if you did not have the most clear-cut motives, you took care of my sister and we are both going to be aunts of the same kids. So you don’t get to say we aren’t really family.”

  
“That’s fair. Where did everyone else end up?” Cheryl changes the subject hastily, pushing down a swell of emotion. Besides Jason, the Blossoms had only begrudgingly called Cheryl one of their own. They had to deal with her because they could not deny she was one of them, yet here was Betty with different looks and a different name, choosing to be her family.

  
“Josie and Kevin are in the other guest room, and Veronica and Toni are in her room.”

  
“I bet Archie loved that.” Cheryl stretches languidly and sits up, which turns the mild throbbing in her head to a full on pounding.

  
“Archie is currently the middle spoon between Reggie and Jughead in the master bedroom. Something about Veronica not liking his morning breath. Now come on, so I can take pictures before they wake up.” Betty holds up her phone mischievously.

  
“Should we make breakfast before waking them or just wake them up and drag them out to Pop’s?” Cheryl follows Betty to the doorway of the master bedroom and sure enough, three growing boys sleep soundly. Reggie is shirtless, and a vivid memory of some Magic Mike inspired dare comes to the forefront of her mind.

  
“Oh god, what did we do last night?” Cheryl groans.

  
“Besides you almost kissing Toni and kissing Veronica instead? I’m not sure I remember it all. Pop’s is a good idea though. ” Betty whispers, still standing in the doorway.

  
“I did what?” Cheryl nearly shrieks. Betty tries to shush her but it is too late. Archie sits bolt upright at the sound, looking around cluelessly at his bedmates, also waking up from the commotion. Jughead falls right off the bed, which makes Betty crack up laughing and very glad to have her phone out, taking pictures.

  
“Get up, boys; we’re going to Pop’s. Strip the bed and put the sheets in the laundry so Veronica’s parents don’t come home to their bed smelling like booze and Axe body spray,” Cheryl instructs before turning to Betty. “You, explain while we wake up Kevin and Josie.”

  
Betty leads Cheryl across the vast penthouse, explaining the bits of truth or dare that she can remember.

  
“…and then Veronica kissed me, and then dared you took kiss the hottest girl in the room. I thought you were going to kiss Toni but there was something about being too cocky and then you whipped around and laid one on Veronica.”  
Okay, that’s good. At least this way, she will be able to remember her and Toni’s first kiss.

  
Wait.

  
What the fuck.

  
Her and Toni’s first kiss?

  
God, she must still be drunk.

  
Betty knocks softly on the door to the second guest bedroom and wakes Josie and Kevin with relative ease. The window in the room faces east, so they both seem like they were already at least half-awake.

  
The gang gathers in the hall outside Veronica’s room.

  
“No way am I waking them up, Veronica is a nightmare in the mornings,” Betty hisses, looking to Archie.

  
“Not it,’ he says quickly, setting off a race for the rest. Kevin comes last and sighs, bucking up his courage as he reaches for the door handle, when it opens. The entire group jumps and Veronica gasps, not having expected all of them to be standing outside her room.

  
“Sorry, I just woke up,” she says quietly. “Toni’s still sound asleep. What’s up?”

  
“We’re going to Pop’s,” Jughead explains.

  
“So, who volunteers to wake up Toni?” Josie asks. Kevin steels himself, ready in case another ‘not it’ race occurs. The group looks to Cheryl.

  
She reaches for the door when Archie grabs her arm.

  
“What about one last dare?” he says roguishly. The group exchanges surprised looks. Archie usually isn’t the ideas man when it comes to teenage mischief.

  
“Depends on what it is,” Cheryl answers.

  
“I dare you to go in there, as quiet as you can and slip into bed. Make her think you guys slept together,” he says excitedly.

  
“Oh, that’s good,” Kevin agrees, living for the drama of it all.

  
“You don’t think she’ll remember who she went to sleep next to?”

  
“Toni didn’t go to sleep next to anyone. After your almost-kiss, she went a little crazy and ended up passing out. Betty carried her to bed like she did you,” Veronica says airily.

  
“And where were the boys when Betty was serving as knight in shining sweater?” Cheryl asks, staring them down. The four boys at least have enough shame to look guilty.

  
“Didn’t figure you’d want us touching you,” Reggie says uncomfortably. Right.

  
“Fair enough. I accept your dare, Archibald,” she declares. Cheryl slides her hands up her dress until she reaches the top of her tights, which she pulls off, leaving her legs bare. “It’s got to seem realistic, right?”

  
With bated breath, the group watches as Cheryl opens the door, as slowly as possible. She tosses the tights onto Toni’s side of the floor and pulls at the covers. She slips into bed as smoothly and possible, then shifts up to Toni’s side. Toni must sense the movement, because she turns towards Cheryl and puts an arm around her waist, remaining asleep.

  
Josie looks to Veronica, who confirms. “Yeah, she’s a cuddler.”

  
Cheryl is frozen, unsure how to proceed and trying desperately not to sink into Toni’s inviting embrace. Suddenly, the moment feels too private for the rest of them to see.

  
Archie waves his hand forward as if to say ‘go on.’

  
“Toni,” she says softly. “We need to get up.”

  
“Why?” Toni whines.

  
“Because, I don’t want the others to find us like this.”

  
“Cheryl, what are you talking about?” Toni mumbles, opening her eyes. Their position, Cheryl’s words, and their bare legs pressed together paints enough of picture to shock Toni fully awake.

  
“Oh my god, did we? And I can’t even remember it?” she yelps. Cheryl bursts out laughing along with the rest of the gang, which leaves Toni completely puzzled, especially when she sees the horde of teenagers cracking up in the hallway.

  
“We didn’t do anything,” Cheryl assures, still laughing. She hops out of bed and tries to smooth her hopelessly wrinkled dress.

  
“Very funny, guys,” Toni laughs weakly.

  
“Wow, you weren’t kidding, Lodge. They really haven’t,” Reggie says, disbelief still in his voice.

  
“Watch it, Mantle,” Toni warns, pulling her switchblade out her back pocket and flicking it open. All traces of laughter die at this.

  
“You slept with that thing in the same bed as me?” Veronica shrieks.

  
“You’ve never seen me that I haven’t had it somewhere on my person.” Toni puts away the blade and stands up to stretch out.

  
“Your Vixens uniform?” Kevin asks curiously.

  
“That skirt may be short but can still hide some things,” Toni answers slyly. “Now, whoever thought that would be funny, it was, but you’re still buying me breakfast.”

* * *

  
“I’m going to see if they have School Days in the jukebox,” Cheryl says, standing from the pushed together tables of Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe. “Does anyone have quarters?”

  
“I got you, babe,” Toni says, setting down her fork. She reaches into her Serpent jacket and produces a handful of change, then picks out a couple quarters, which she hands to Cheryl.

  
“Thanks, love.”

  
Toni watches Cheryl strut over to the jukebox and starts flipping through the selection.

  
“You two have a weird thing, you know that?” Reggie says, which Toni ignores in favor of the stack of pancakes in front of her. Her phone starts ringing and she picks up immediately.

  
“Tiny, you gotta get down here. Ghoulies are trying to bust up the Wyrm. Is Jones with you?” Fangs talks fast and breathlessly, like he’s physically holding the doors shut as he speaks. In the background, Sweet Pea yells for her to get her ass over there.

  
“Yeah, we’ll be right over,” Toni promises. “Come on, Jones, we gotta go. Ghoulies at the Wyrm.”

  
“Shit.” Jughead jumps up as Cheryl returns to the table.

  
“What’s going on?” she asks as Toni pulls out her wallet.

  
“Serpent stuff,” Toni says shortly. “Shit, I left my bike at your house.”

  
“You can ride with me,” Jughead says, reaching for his own wallet.

  
“Stop, I already took care of the bill,” Cheryl says, as if it should be obvious. “Go, be safe.”

  
“Yeah, be safe,” Betty repeats before giving Jughead a quick kiss. Toni feels a disturbing urge to do the same to Cheryl before she leaves, but that is a problem for another time. The two exit Pop’s and Toni jumps on the back of Jughead’s bike.

  
They tear down side roads and barely come to a stop in the Whyte Wyrm’s gravel lot before Toni is jumping off the bike. At the front, a couple dozen Ghoulies use a trashcan as a battering ram, trying to break down the door. She pounds on the back door where the liquor deliveries come in.

  
“Fuck off, you mangy freaks!” Sweet Pea roars.

  
“Pea, it’s us!” Toni shouts. Sweet Pea cracks the door and lets them in quickly. Inside, half a dozen Serpents hold the front door, wincing at every pound.

  
“What’s the plan?” Fangs shouts, leaning against the door and bracing himself for another hit.

  
“Are they hitting pretty rhythmically?” Toni asks, and Fangs nods.

  
“Okay, let them hit two more times. Then on three, just before impact, open the doors,” Toni commands.

  
“Are you nuts?” Hogeye screams.

  
“She’s right,” Jughead yells. “The first few will fall over because they won’t be expecting it. It will take them a second to recover, and by then we’ll already be beating them down. As it stands, they’re going to wear us out but if they’re beat they won’t be coming back for a few days at least.”

  
“And none of them had heaters, right?” Fangs asks fearfully.

  
“If they did, they would have already shot through the door,” Toni reasons. “Are we doing this?”

  
The Serpents shout their agreement.

  
“On my count!” Toni shouts, tapping out the rhythm on her leg.

  
“One.” Bang.

  
“Two.” Bang.

  
“Three!” The doors fly open and Toni is nearly blinded by the flood of light, but the momentary pause is nothing compared to the four Ghoulies on the floor, and more tripping over them. Toni advances to the few on the floor. She lands a solid kick to one of them, then another. Sweet Pea throws an upright Ghoulie to the floor, and Toni turns her attention to him. For long, harsh minutes, Fangs and Sweet Pea put them down and Toni keeps them down. One enemy member gets to his feet and lands a punch to her ribs, on the opposite side from her tattoo. Toni groans but straightens up, seething. She charges the thug and punches him squarely in the gut, making him double over. Toni turns swiftly around and grabs his arm for leverage. She leans forward and pulls with all her might, throwing him over her shoulder. There’s a sickening crunch on impact, and this time he stays down.

  
One of the few girls in the Ghoulies gang approaches Toni, like she’s looking for a fair fight. She swings once, twice, but Toni only manages to duck the first. Roxy, Toni thinks her name is, embeds a ring-studded fist in her jaw, knocking her to the floor. Toni scrambles to her feet and grabs Roxy by the hair. It may be a dirty way to fight but that’s what she gets for messing with Toni’s place of work. Toni pulls her backwards and gets in a few good hits before knocking her to the floor.  
Around her, the rest of the Serpents stand surrounded by Ghoulies on the ground in varying states of consciousness. Some of them, they pick up and throw out and others walk out, defeated. They carry their wounded back to their cars and drive away, allowing the Serpents to breathe once more.

  
“God, that was fun.” Sweet Pea’s voice is distorted and Toni looks over to see him pinching his nose, trying to staunch a flow of blood.

  
“Come here, let’s get patched up,” Toni says gruffly. The pain in her ribs is more pronounced than before and her lip is definitely bleeding but it doesn’t stop her from going behind the bar to get the first aid kit.

  
"Okay, mom," Sweet Pea teases, sitting down on a barstool.

  
“The wrestlers at school use these and I thought it was kind of handy, so I got some for the kit,” Toni says, handing Sweet Pea a cotton tube that looks much longer than necessary, “you tear it in half and put one in each nostril.”

  
Sweet Pea follows the instructions and washes the remaining blood from his face. Toni and Hogeye put together bags of ice from the machine in the back room and pass them out to everyone. The Serpents collapse onto couches and barstools throughout the bar, saying almost nothing.

  
"Did you get another piercing?" Sweet Pea asks Toni. She feels around her lip and embedded in a cut is something hard. Wincing, Toni pulls it out to find a cheap rhinestone from one of Roxy's rings.

  
"God, that's disgusting. Someone get me some rubbing alcohol so I don't get an infection."

  
"I just used the last of the rubbing alcohol on Fang's neck. One of those freaks bit him," Hogeye calls across the room.

  
"Shit. I gotta clean this out."

  
"I got something that will work." Hogeye reaches over the bar and grabs a one hundred and ninety proof vodka.

  
"One for good luck," he offers, pouring a shot. Toni nods, accepting the glass. She throws it back and forces down the urge to gag. Toni can practically feel her liver protesting.

  
Hogeye pours the vodka down her face and Toni basks in the cleasing burn, not caring that about how it runs down her neck and soaking her shirt.

* * *

  
"Well, guess I'm walking," Betty sighs, peering out into the blazing sunlight of midday. After their luxurious brunch, the gang is finally breaking up to go home, shower, and put on some much needed clean clothes.

  
"Come on, I'll drive you," Cheryl says, walking towards Jason's car. She briefly wonders if it will ever stop being Jason's car in her mind.

  
"Oh you dont have to-"

  
"Nonsense, Betty, we're family." Cheryl hopes Betty understands that she is trying acknowledge their earlier conversation, and it seems like she does based on the small, sincere smile she gets in return. Cheryl opens the driver's side door and sits, with her knees pressed uncomfortably against the dashboard.

  
"God, I forgot Toni's short ass adjusted the seat," she mutters, pulling at the lever on the side of the seat.

  
"Toni drove your car?" Betty asks in a lilting voice.

  
"It's not my car. Anyway, she loves to drive about as fiercely as I hate to drive, so I let her. She thinks it's funny to open the car door and drive her best girl around, like she's James Dean or something." Cheryl refuses to look Betty in the eye; even she cannot believe she is saying this.

  
"Okay, not to pile on," Betty starts. Cheryl rolls her eyes. "But you two have a really weird relationship."

  
"It's not that weird," Cheryl defends as she turns on to Peach Street.

  
"No, it really is. It is super weird to continually flirt with someone who is actually attracted to you, when you have no intention of letting it go anywhere. It's kind of mean." Betty's indignance is nauseating.

  
"She knows it doesn't mean anything," Cheryl assures, tightening her grip on the wheel.

  
"Are you sure it doesn't?" Cheryl's blood turns cold. She can feel her mother's bony fingers clenched around her arms, a stream of insults spewed in her ear, the heartbreak of a first love tossed quite literally to the curve.

  
"Careful, cousin," she says darkly. "Whatever you're implying, it isn't true. I am not a deviant."

  
"Careful, cousin," Betty hisses mockingly. Okay, so she might really have some Blossom blood. "Don't you dare suggest that Toni, or Veronica, or Kevin are deviant just because they're not straight."

Oh.

  
"I wasn't trying to-"

  
"Then what were you trying to say?" Betty snaps.

  
"I was just saying that I. I cannot. I mean, I'm not. I cannot be like that." Cheryl feels her throat closing up. Betty puts a hand on her knee and Cheryl cringes.

  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to push anything on you. I just hate the idea that you might be wasting a chance to be happy," Betty says.

  
"Why does it matter to you? Honestly, Betty, don't you have anything better to think about?" For the love of God, Betty Cooper, change the damn subject.

  
"This is important. And not really, since I'm currently trying not to think what's happening with Jughead and the other Serpents right now." Of course. The only other subject Cheryl does not want to think about.

  
"Do think they'll get hurt?" Her voice is impossibly small as she parks in front of the Cooper house. She turns to face Betty, who nervously tightens her ponytail.

  
"Probably. I stopped hoping they wouldn't get hurt a long time ago. Now, it's just a matter of degrees."

  
"That's horrible."

  
"Yeah."

  
The newfound family finds themselves sitting in silence for a long few minutes.

  
"Toni knows its a joke. If it hurt her, she would say something. Honestly, I think she would be more hurt if we stopped. It's how we became friends," Cheryl says finally, as Betty reaches for the door.

  
"Okay. Well, it still seems weird," she says, getting out of the car. "And I hope you know that if you did like Toni, that wouldn't make you a deviant. In fact, it might mean you and Jason had even more in common. Falling for the girls you're told to stay away from."

  
"That story ended in tragedy," Chery replies shortly.

  
"Yeah, that one did," Betty agrees. "But not all of them do."

* * *

  
"Jug, can you take me to Thistlehouse? My bike is still there." Toni tears open the now melted bag of ice into the sink and throws away the plastic. Her ribs are bruised but not cracked, of that she is certain. Cracked ribs feel like they're piercing straight through the lungs which, Toni supposes, they could be.

  
"Yeah, let's go before it gets too late and I don't want to drive." Toni looks out the window where the sun is setting on the Southside. Already, scared mothers are calling their children in from skipping rope and shooting hoops. Toni can feel their collective disappointment at being trapped inside, all thanks to guns and gangs and jingle jangle, and she aches for the innocence that will be cut short. By middle school, their options will be limited to join, move, or get hurt.

  
Toni follows Jughead out to the back lot and hops on the motorcycle behind him. They ride in silence due north until they reach the forest's edge, where the Blossom property starts.

  
"Thanks, Jug," Toni says simply as she dismounts. "Drive back safe, I won't be far behind. Don't forget to call Betty. You know she worries."

  
"I know, Tiny. You should probably check in with Cheryl, too," Jughead adds, winking.

  
"I don't know what you mean," she answer airily.

  
"And here I thought you were smart," he mocks. "Don't think I haven't noticed how the Red Queen has warmed up to us Serpents. That's all thanks to you. And honestly, if the stuff with the Ghoulies keeps escalating, we're going to need all the allies we can get."

  
"Go home, Jughead." Toni walks toward the side of the house. She could get on her bike and ride back to her trailer right now, but something tells Toni that climbing up a trellis would be just as easy as climbing down. The fading rumble of Jughead's departure is all the cue she needs to start.

  
Turns out, three stories is no easy feat, especially when half your body is aching from a brawl just hours before. Still, she makes it to the top and knocks softly on the door.

  
"What the hell..." Toni hears Cheryl's soft voice from inside. When she opens the door, her face goes slack.

  
"What happened to you?" she whispers, ushering Toni in.

  
"Ghoulies," Toni says simply.

  
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Cheryl asks curiously. What are you doing here? she means.

  
"I came by to get my bike and I thought I'd stop in and say hello," Toni explains. "But no, there's nothing you can do, unless you can magically heal these cuts and bruises on my face."

  
"I would offer my concealer, but on you it would look like clown makeup," Cheryl jokes, hoping to ease the tension.

  
"I wouldn't use it, even if it were my shade. It's a point of pride with the Serpents, to show everyone what we can endure."

  
Cheryl's eyes flash dangerously, like she wants vengeance.

  
"Let me see what they did to you," she commands.

  
Cheryl sets about inspecting every scrape and purpling bruise on Toni's face.

  
"Kiss it better?" Toni teases softly, not daring to hope. Then the unthinkable happens. Cheryl obliges, leaning in to press a feather-light kiss to her cheek, just to the right of her lips. Toni lets her eyes fall closed, humming lightly. Warmth radiates from her cheek and if she smiles any wider she's going to bust open one of her cuts.

  
Cheryl runs her hands from Toni's biceps down to her hands, where she discovers her bloodied fist. Slowly, never pulling her eyes away from Toni's she kisses each scabbed knuckle. Each kiss sends a lightning bolt down Toni's spine.

  
"Cheryl," Toni says thickly.

  
"Where else?" she asks.

  
"My ribs." This is not happening. This is not happening. Toni can no longer trust her senses because this is not happening. The fire burning in her stomach grows from torch to inferno. She's sweating, she's feverish, and this is not happening.  
Nodding to herself, Cheryl lifts Toni's shirt until she finds the patches of mottled skin. She stares for a moment, then seems to steel herself. At a glacial pace, Cheryl lowers herself onto her knees and turns her head slightly. She leans in and kisses a bruise accented with a ring outline, then another from a Ghoulies boot from when she was momentarily on the floor. Toni can feel herself growing wetter with every kiss. Cheryl attends to both sides of Toni's ribs alternately, until her lipstick is nearly gone. Occasionally, she looks up, her pupils blown wide and Toni feels like she might faint. Cheryl's lips on her sides, her hands on Toni's hips, it's too much.

  
Without a word, Cheryl stands back up.

  
"All better?" she asks timidly.

  
"I'm cured," Toni says weakly. She wants badly to kiss Cheryl right now, to satiate the hunger growling in the pit of her stomach, but she can't. Somehow, even this is a part of their game.

  
"It's getting late."

  
"I should go."

  
"Probably."

  
"Vixens practice Monday morning?"

  
"Will you pick me up?"

  
"Of course. Do you want me to bring coffee?"

  
"If you wouldn't mind. Vanilla la-"

  
"Latte with two shots, not four. Yeah, I know, wimp." It's over now; they're back to teasing. It's a relief, somewhat, but Toni is still aching with want that will go unattended for now.

  
"No one needs that much caffeine."

  
"I do. Especially since I have a feeling I won't be sleeping tonight." Toni should not say it, but she needs Cheryl to know just how much she has affected her.

  
"Will you think of me?" Cheryl teases.

  
"How could I forget about my best girl?" Toni replies lightly, stepping backwards towards the balcony doors.

  
Toni feels Cheryl's watchful eyes on her as she descends the trellis. She swings a leg over her bike and groans slightly when the motor turns over. It only aggravates the ache in her core.

  
Toni rides home and throws herself into her room. She stares at the ceiling for a while before deciding to take a shower. The water is always cold in the trailer, and for once, it's a welcome sensation.

  
Toni returns to laying in bed and staring at the ceiling. The phrase 'counting ceiling tiles' has never made much sense to Toni. If someone is able to count the ceiling tiles during sex, their partner isn't very good.

  
Cheryl wouldn't have to worry about that. She'd barely be able to see straight. Toni berates herself for even thinking it.

  
She should absolutely not be thinking about Cheryl writhing underneath her, burying her hands in Toni's pink hair.

  
She should definitely not be thinking about leaving fingerprint bruises up her thighs that show when she wears that Vixen uniform, the one that was designed solely to torture Toni.

  
She should not think about any of these things, which is why she does.


	4. i want to go faster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl has a dream, decides to go for a ride. Toni does not like the new Vixens uniforms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Betty, beating Cheryl over the head with a stick: THAT'S NOT STRAIGHT ACTIVITY

“All better?”

“I’m cured,” Toni says, unblinking. She looks at Cheryl something to hunt, to devour, which sends heat spiking down Cheryl’s spine. Wordlessly, Toni picks her up off the floor, earning a surprised squeak, and kisses her soundly. Cheryl wraps her legs around Toni’s waist and allows herself to be carried across the floor to the bedroom.

Cheryl is shocked and deeply affected by the strength with which Toni throws her down onto the bed. She lays back, waiting for Toni to follow. Instead, Toni crawls on all fours and stares down at her. Cheryl’s mouth goes dry and the heat that had been shooting to her core has now settled into a thrumming want, begging to be satisfied.

“Say the word, Red, and I’m gone,” Toni offers, her eyes roaming over Cheryl’s body shamelessly.

“I want you to stay,” Cheryl assures. Toni cracks a smile and drops down, laying flush on top of her. Toni ravages her neck with hasty kisses and playful bites that make Cheryl whine. Toni moves up slightly to whisper in her ear.

“You want me to stay, I’ll stay. What else do you want?”

“Toni, I…” Cheryl trails off helplessly. As if offering a suggestion, Toni slides a leg in between hers. The pressure is an aggravating relief and it makes Cheryl moan. At the sound of herself, she puts a hand over her mouth, but Toni pulls it away.

“I want to hear you, Cheryl.” Her name has never sounded so good, so real until Toni says it, her voice heavy and commanding. “Now, what do you want?”

“Toni, please, I….” Apparently this is enough. That or Toni is getting impatient. Either way, Toni tugs at her shirt, obvious in her intent. Cheryl sits up slightly to let her pull it off. It must be three hundred degrees in the room, based on the way Cheryl is burning up, but still, with Toni looking at her like that, her hairs stand on end.

Toni dips down to kiss every newly exposed inch of skin and in doing so, settles her hips between Cheryl’s legs. Cheryl moans again and starts moving rhythmically against her. Toni pulls Cheryl up off the bed for a moment to undo her bra and kiss her once more on the lips. God, Cheryl would happily do that for the rest of her life, but Toni’s hand is on her breast and there is so much more yet to do.

“Can I…?” she asks softly, tapping the small metal button at the top of Cheryl’s jeans.

“Yes,” she breathes in response. Finally, Toni strips away her gray skinny jeans and sits up on her knees. Cheryl pulls her knees together, missing the pressure of Toni against her. Toni turns her head slightly and puts on hand on each knee, slowly spreading them apart. Cheryl feels herself going faint when Toni presses a kiss to her left knee. Inch by fucking inch, Toni kisses her way up her thighs. Cheryl moans when, at last, Toni presses a kiss to the edge of her lace panties.

Toni looks up at her wickedly and hovers over her wet center. She should be embarrassed about how fucking close she is, but Cheryl can’t find it in herself to care, not when Toni is about to…

And then she turns, and starts again at the other knee. Cheryl whimpers slightly. Her only saving grace is the knowledge that surely Toni can only hold out for so long. Years seems to pass and finally, Toni is back where Cheryl needs her. She sits up, just for a moments strips off her jacket and shirt, but not before pulling something out of her jacket pocket.

Toni flicks open her switch and Cheryl’s breath catches in her throat. As tenderly as someone can wield a blade, Toni slides the knife to her hips and slides the blade between her skin and underwear. With the slightest motion, an edge intended for cutting through skin and sinew cuts through the lace. Toni does the same on the other side.

“Hey, I liked those,” Cheryl says weakly as Toni puts away the knife and tosses it to the floor.

“I liked them too,” Toni assures, “but you can afford new ones.”

Toni settles between her legs and grins at how wet she is. Cheryl groans as Toni glides a teasing finger up her soaked entrance before leaning in. Cheryl feels Toni’s tongue trace the edge of her clit, and suddenly her hands are in Toni’s hair. She can’t take it anymore. Toni buries herself between her legs and Cheryl nearly cries out, pulling at pink locks desperately.

“Toni,” she begs, “please, I’m gonna…”

Toni sucks at her clit and pushes one, two fingers roughly inside her and Cheryl comes undone.

And then she wakes up.

Drenched in sweat and breathing like she’s just run a hundred meter dash, Cheryl wakes up, still clenching at her sheets.

She looks at the clock, 4:17, then down at herself. Fuck. This is not right. There has to be some explanation for this, some reason other than the idea that she might be…

Shit.

* * *

 

“Can you pick me up a little early? I want to go for a drive.” Cheryl’s voice is sweet in Toni’s ear, even if her call did wake her at five in the fucking morning.

“I’ll be there in a bit,” Toni says softly, trying not to wake Sweet Pea. He’d climbed through the window just hours ago, saying he needed to lay low for a while and promptly fell asleep on the floor. She dresses herself quickly, pulling on dark jeans and a Pink Floyd tee, taking care to cuff the sleeves. She slips into her Serpent jacket like she does every day, running her hands over the worn leather. Somewhere in a closet hangs a brand new jacket, which F.P. had bought her when she was thirteen, with the promise that someday she would grow into it. Her current jacket fits perfectly, and a sixteen, Toni knows she’s reached her vertical limit, so the other goes unused. Before long, Fangs’ little sister will be big enough for it though. The thought of Mickey joining up, doing the Serpent Dance makes Toni nauseous.

“Where the hell are you going?” Sweet Pea groans. He sits up and checks his phone, probably trying to determine if whoever he was hiding from is still on the hunt.

“I’m going to pick up Cheryl,”

“It’s five in the fucking morning, Tiny, so unless you’re getting a piece of that I don’t see the point.”

Toni tries valiantly not to think of the night before. A kiss on the cheek, four on her hand, a dozen on her torso, and not a one on her lips. It didn’t mean anything. The game is still going. Cheryl just happened to play a really good hand.

“Oh my god, you finally got laid,” Sweets teases, jumping on her lack of response.

“No, I just. Don’t be crude. I like her.” Toni reaches for her keys and heads toward the door. “Don’t be late for class, Pea.”

“Why the hell does it matter? They’re not gonna give me a diploma anyway.” He throws off the covers and stands up, following Toni out to the kitchen. He pulls an expired box of Poptarts from the top shelf and tears open a silver wrapper.

“It doesn’t have to be like that. We’re gonna get you through to the end, I promise,” Toni pleads. Every day is a battle to keep him and school. She and Fangs can only do so much. High school diplomas are a rare commodity this side of Meridian Street, but Toni knows the three of them can make it.

“Whatever, I’ll go to class. You go, your girl is waiting on you.”

Toni walks outside, gets on her bike and heads north once again, stopping only to pick up the coffee she had promised to Cheryl.

Upon arrival at Thistlehouse, Toni cuts the motor and coasts partway down the drive, so as not to alert Penelope and Nana Rose. She parks it where she always does, just off the path behind a couple trees, where only an expecting eye would find it.

Toni pulls out her phone and hits call on the most recent contact.

“Hello,” Cheryl says evenly, appearing in her bedroom window.

“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair to me.” Toni waves slightly and Cheryl waves back.

“Sorry, my braid isn’t long enough quite yet. Where’s your bike?”

“I put it away.”

“Get it back out. I want to go for a ride.” Cheryl’s voice is full of determination, which thrills Toni.

“Well get down here, Red. I’ve been itching for you to ride me since the day we met.” Toni has had that line in her back pocket for weeks now.

“With you,” Cheryl corrects.

“That too,” she agrees.

“Do you have leather?”

“A jacket, or just in general?”

“You need to at least be wearing jeans and a leather jacket. Road rash is a bitch.”

“Then you better not crash.”

Cheryl disappears from the window while Toni retrieves her bike and, a few moments later, comes out the kitchen entrance.

Toni walks her motorcycle over, which Cheryl regards as if it may jump up and bite her.

“Come here,” Toni coaxes, handing Cheryl a helmet. “It’s okay to be scared.”

“I’m not scared.” Cheryl steps forward cautiously as she pulls on the helmet.

“All you have to do is hang on. Nothin’s gonna happen,” Toni assures. Nodding, Cheryl climbs on and puts her arms around Toni loosely. Toni starts it up, and the second the engine turns over, Cheryl tightens her grip.

“Straight to school?” Toni asks.

“Take the long way.”

And they’re off. Toni pulls out of the driveway heading north out of town, along a winding road bordered by Blossom Maple Trees. When Toni nears the bridge between Riverdale and Greendale, she turns back around. The rush of Sweetwater River behind them is one of the few sounds as the sun rises over the town. Toni had forgotten that Riverdale could be beautiful. The Southside, jingle jangle, the Blossom’s tragedy, they were stains of what was truly a nice town, when no one is awake.

“Faster,” Cheryl urges, surprising Toni for the thousandth time. She is happy to oblige, pushing their cruising sixty to seventy-five.

“I want to go faster,” she repeats.

“If I get a ticket, you’re paying it,” Toni says, shaking her head.  She lays on the throttle, pushing to ninety.

“Worth it.”

* * *

 

“Betty, can I talk to you after my announcement?” Cheryl asks as she heads into the locker room.

“Yeah, of course. So what is this big surprise announcement anyway?” Betty is curious, and Cheryl can’t tell if that’s due to the announcement or their conversation after.

“You’ll see.” Cheryl stands on a bench and waits in haughty silence until the River Vixens quiet down. “Good morning, ladies. Practice went well today, so thanks for the hard work.”

Betty had told Cheryl that she needed to more appreciative of the squad, which was probably true.

“As you know, our beloved Bulldogs wear different uniforms for different games. Blue for home games, white for away games. From now on, we will do the same in order to coordinate and better support our teams.”

“That’s actually not a bad idea. Varsity football gets new uniforms every year,” Josie reasons.

“Exactly. Therefore, each of us are getting two new uniforms. One is the classic blue and gold, and the other is white with blue and gold accents.”

“Let us see!” Veronica shouts. Cheryl rolls her eyes but pulls one out with a flourish. “They have our last names embroidered on the skirt. Also, and this is optional but highly encouraged, we’re going to be wearing them to class on game days like the Bulldogs do with their jerseys.”

“Are the skirts shorter that the old ones?” Toni asks apprehensively. The one Cheryl is holding up certainly looking

“Wouldn’t you like to know.” Cheryl winks. “And yes, they’re about three inches shorter.”

“Are you trying to kill Toni?” Veronica teases. “I was just starting to like her.”

“Shush. Now, come collect your new uniforms and feel free to wear them today. I certainly will.”

Cheryl hands out the uniforms and a few girls change into them, before she changes herself.

“You wanted to talk?” Betty asks, standing in the otherwise empty locker room.

“I did.”

“Well, what’s up?”

“I’m going to ask you a question. You cannot comment on the nature of the question, you cannot ask why I am asking. You can only answer yes or no. Depending on your answer, I may walk directly out the door. Do you agree to these conditions?”

“Cheryl, what is go-” Betty looks like she is already internally drafting the next _Blue & Gold _headline.

“Do you agree to these conditions?” Cheryl interrupts sharply.

“Fine, I agree.”

“Have you ever had a dream about Veronica?” she asks, staring at the locker to Betty’s left, refusing to make eye contact.

“Well, yeah. A couple weeks I had this weird dream that I was running late for a dress fitting and Veronica was like pouring fireball shots for me on the way to the car, and I was wearing this super strange leather skirt and…” Betty’s rambling trails off when Cheryl rolls her eyes.

“Not that kind of dream, Betty,” Cheryl says, willing her to understand. “I mean like a _dream._ ”

“Oh. Ohhh. A sex dream,” Betty fills in. “No, never.”

“Okay. Thanks for answering my question.” Cheryl tries to keep her tone even as panic rises in her chest. This is not normal. What happened this morning was not even close to normal, or acceptable, or even understandable. It was strange and deviant and wrong.

“You had a sex dream about Toni?” Betty nearly shouts, just now having connected the dots.

“Shut up. No. I mean. No.” Cheryl can feel her heart pounding in her ears.

“Cheryl, it’s okay. I mean, you like Toni. You want Toni. That’s all okay,” Betty pulls her into a hug.

“I’m straight,” Cheryl snaps, pushing Betty away.

“Have you ever heard a phrase so many times it starts to lose its meaning?” Betty says lightly.

“Shut it, Cooper.”

“Okay, you’re straight. But you had a sex dream about your friend, who is a girl, who you have been flirting with nonstop for weeks. Since the second she arrived at this school.” Cheryl hates Betty’s even tone, her sympathetic eyes. Hates the fact that everything she is saying is true.

“It was a one time, freak thing. An anomaly,” Cheryl declares, trying to convince herself as much as anyone else.

“Okay, let’s go with that for now. What happens if you have another?”

“I don’t know.” She hadn’t even considered that possibility.

“Maybe you should talk to Toni or Veronica about this. I’m not exactly an expert in this area,” Betty says uncomfortably. “I’m here for you, always, but I’m not sure my advice is going to help anyone.”

“Well, I obviously cannot talk to Toni about this,” Cheryl snaps again. “And Veronica would just say something crude.”

“You’re right, she’s probably say like ‘go for it, Bombshell, get it out of your system.’” Betty’s impression of Veronica is spot on, which makes Cheryl laugh. The bell rings and both girls look at each other awkwardly.

“Well, thanks for talking to me,” Cheryl says nervously.

“It’s no problem. Can I ask you a question in return though?” Betty’s smile is all mischief, but Cheryl owes her.

“Go ahead.”

“In your dream, does fantasy Toni have game?”

Cheryl throws her hairbrush, the nearest thing should could reach, at Betty, who ducks it as she runs out.

Get it out of your system.

Now that’s not a bad plan.

* * *

 

“Pop quiz today, class. Books and phones away.” Dr. Watson passes out quizzes while Toni pulls a pen from her bag. Cheryl still hasn’t arrived, which is unusual. Toni looks down at her paper and starts reading the questions.

“I believe we’ve agreed to start class at 10:30. Miss Blossom, take your seat and start your quiz.”

Toni nearly chokes when she looks up to see Cheryl in her brand new Vixens uniform. Who knew someone that pale would look so good in white? Her red hair and lips are thrown into even sharper contrast and the new, shorter skirt shows off even more of her perfect legs.

Toni turns back to the quiz and tries to focus, but Cheryl’s white sneaker taps softly beside her and she looks over again. Now that she is sitting down, the sinfully short uniform is pulled even higher up the side of her thighs. Toni swears she can see the edge of red lace underwear. God, she isn’t wearing the spandex that comes with the uniform, a necessity for doing high kicks and flips.

Before Toni can stop herself, she’s envisioning pulling Cheryl into the supply closet in the hall, threading her hands through long red hair, pulling slightly to expose her sculpted neck. She imagines kissing away red lipstick and sliding her hand up Cheryl’s top, squeezing and feeling until finally she gets one hand up her skirt, pushing the lace out of her way and fucking Cheryl Blossom senseless against the wall.  She imagines soft moans and bite marks on the hand she uses to keep her quiet while their classmates pass by unaware. Toni can practically feel her clenching around her fingers, slumping against her body when she comes undone. Toni can taste the sticky sweetness of her reward on her fingertips, can hear Cheryl worrying if somebody heard.

“Pencils down.” Dr. Watson’s gentle voice breaks Toni’s inappropriate daydream. She looks down at her paper, which is still totally blank.

The next week, when Toni gets the paper back, it’s marked with an F and a bit of advice. _Perhaps if you spent more time writing and less time leering at your classmate, you would have done better._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly shorter chapter this time, but leading towards something good, I hope. Loving the comments, and would love to see suggestions on more banter/flirtation/etc.


	5. okay, that was just mean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cheryl has a nightmare, which turns into a very bad day. The real core four (Cheryl, Toni, B + V) have a sleepover.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How many different ways can a person say losing your virginity before they run out? Hopefully that phrase won't be relevant in a chapter or two.

It was a one time, freak thing, an anomaly, Cheryl decides a few days later. She has not had a single thought of Toni in that regard since the incident. She has had the polar opposite in fact, a series of nightmares, mostly about Jason.

If missing Jason came in waves, then what had once been a hurricane had slowed in the last few months to a tidal pull, strong, but predictable and manageable.

Today, however, her grief is a tsunami, completely unexpected and utterly devastating. Cheryl had not stopped crying since the minute she’d woken up. She could still hear Jason in her ear. _Why didn’t you tell anyone, Cheryl? If you had told someone I was supposed to come back, they would have come looking for me. They would have found me before Father pulled the trigger. It’s your fault._

Cheryl tries in vain to pull herself together, including making some requests. She pulls out her phone and sends texts.

_Veronica, do you mind running practice today? I’m not feeling great_

_No problem, Bombshell. Are you gonna be home sick all day?_

_No, I’m still coming. I just don’t think I can be the perky captain our squad needs_

_Okay, well I hope you feel better. See you at practice_

_Can you come pick me up today? I really don’t want to drive his car today_

_Anything you need, Red. Are you okay?_

_It’s a missing him day, isn’t it?_

_Whatever you need today, just let me know_

Cheryl sobs even harder at the compassion Veronica and Toni show for her. What did she ever do to deserve them? And at what point would they figure out that she doesn’t?

Is she going to fail them like she failed Jason?

Cheryl falls back onto her bed and completely apart. Barely even dressed and not bothering to put on makeup for fear it would run right off, she takes only enough time to pull her hair up into an unimaginative ponytail before collapsing again.

_I’m here, sweetheart_

Cheryl wants to reply, to sit up and go but her body won’t let her. She watches minutes tick by on the clock, and silently reprimands herself. If they don’t leave now, they’re going to be late.

“Cheryl?” Toni’s voice is soft as she steps into the room. She must have climbed the trellis. Cheryl opens her mouth to speak but her voice is gone, her throat still thick with emotion. She can’t even make herself turn over, so she’s shocked when Toni lays down next to her. Toni puts one arm around her and pulls her close.

“Do you still want to go or do you need more time?” she says softly.

“I want to go,” Cheryl whispers. “I just can’t seem to move.”

“Is your mom home?” Toni’s question puzzles her.

“No.”

“Okay, then.” Toni pulls her arm away and gets off the bed, walking around to the other side. Without a word, Toni slides her arms under Cheryl’s arm and knees and lifts her up.

“Toni,” Cheryl squeaks. “Stop.”

“Do you want me to put you back down? You really don’t have to go to school today. I’ll even stay with you if you want,” Toni offers.

“No, I want to go. I just, I’m too heavy for you,” Cheryl replies quickly. Toni shifts slightly and hums.

“Not really. You’re about the same size as the Ghoul who wrecked my face this weekend, and I carried her unconscious ass out onto the sidewalk,” Toni explains, already carrying Cheryl down the hall.

“No one could wreck your face, T.T., it’s perfect,” Cheryl says softly her face buried in Toni’s neck. The distraction is good. Cheryl feels like she could walk now, but like a child who pretends to be asleep, she lets herself be carried.

“I have to say, that is not how envisioned getting into your bed with you,” Toni jokes, apparently having picked up on Cheryl’s desire to not talk about it.

“And how did you envision it?” Cheryl teases.

“Well, for one, in my head you aren’t crying when I do so.” Cheryl gives a watery laugh. She feels a little bad at getting Toni’s shirt all wet, but it will dry.

By the time they get down all three flights of stairs and out the door, Cheryl is feeling a little better, like there are no more waves for right now. All that’s left to do is let the floodwater dissipate.

Toni helps Cheryl onto her feet when they reach the car.

“I got it out while I was waiting for you,” Toni says as she starts the car.

“Such a gentlewoman.” Cheryl feigns swooning, which feels a little less fake when Toni puts her hand on her thigh, like always.

“I try to do well by the lady I’m courting,” Toni says airily, continuing the bit.

“Perhaps the next time you engage in battle, I should send you with a token of my favor,” Cheryl returns in kind.

“Yeah, the guys would be really impressed if I went to a fight with a bottle of maple syrup in hand,” Toni laughs.

“Why maple syrup?”  Cheryl asks, smiling slightly.

“I reckon that logo is the closest thing your family has to a coat of arms.”

“We have an actual coat of arms, you know,” Cheryl says seriously. Toni gives her a look of total disbelief.

“Well, I guess I do too.” Toni gestures to the back of her Serpent jacket.

When the school comes into sight, Cheryl is feeling much better than she did before. Mostly, she’s just tired, emotionally and physically. It’s a warm day and the last few miles of the drive have been in comfortable silence, leaving her nodding slightly against the car door.

“Wake up, Cher. We’re already running a bit close on time,” Toni urges. Cheryl complies, following Toni to the locker room. She changes and heads out to the track, spending most of practice being grateful that she doesn’t have to lead it.

Afterwards, Cheryl heads to the showers like always, runs through her usual routine and at the end, as was her habit, turns the knob until cold water streams down.

Today especially, this is done in the hope that it will wake her up.

Instead, the icy blast dredges up a memory.

Standing in the shower, Cheryl feels the ice crack under her feet. She plunges down, down, down into the frozen water of Sweetwater River. Cheryl tries to breathe but her lungs feel like they’re going to explode. She’s going numb, the cold is killing her hands and feet, making its way deeper.

Cheryl’s vision blurs as death approaches.

Still, she cannot breathe and pounding against the shower walls does nothing to crack the ice that holds her, submerged.

* * *

 

Toni steps out of the shower and quickly starts brushing through her hair, making a mental note to get more pink dye when she gets paid next Friday.

From the showers, Toni can hear someone breathing heavily. The sounds quickens, like they’re hyperventilating. Toni looks around, and others do too, trying to figure out who it is.

“Cheryl?” Toni calls, having taken a mental attendance of the rest. Not that it was necessary; Cheryl’s presence, or lack thereof, is obvious.

There is no answer, only the sound of a fist pounding against tile.

“What should we do?” Veronica says, rushing over. Toni looks to her and freezes.

“I can’t go in there!” Veronica exclaims.

“Neither can I!” Toni says obviously, her voice strained with concern.

“Oh my god, you useless bisexuals,” Betty huffs, grabbing Cheryl’s towel – a bath sheet, she would say – and charging in, wrapping her cousin up quickly. This gives Toni license to follow, and the two of them hug Cheryl tightly, ignoring the cold shower soaking their clothes. They guide Cheryl carefully to the floor. Her eyes are deadened by the panic attack still seizing her body. Veronica reaches over and turns off the water, before turning around to address the gaping crowd of Vixens.

“Get out, all of you! Scram!”

They hurriedly obey and Veronica kneels down next to the other three girls who are sitting, stuffed like sardines, on the floor of the shower.

“Cheryl, can you hear me?” Toni says softly, clasping Cheryl’s hand. On the other side, Betty does the same. “Try to breathe with me, okay? In, two, three, four, out, two, three, four…”

Cheryl’s hyperventilating slows after a while and she pulls her head up.

“I drowned,” she says softly. “The river, it…”

“Cheryl, that was a long time ago, remember? We came and got you, Archie rescued you,” Betty says soothingly.

“Archie rescued me,” she agrees. Toni gives Veronica a questioning look and Veronica shakes her head.

“Cheryl, how do you feel?” Veronica asks softly.

“Cold and wet.”

“Okay, let’s get you dressed. You’ll feel warmer. Can you stand up?” Betty asks.

Cheryl doesn’t reply. Instead she giggles slightly.

“I got you all wet, Toni,” she says, almost hysterically.

“Not the first time, nor the last, Cherry,” Toni says. Veronica and Betty give matching affronted looks, but Cheryl giggles again.

“That really sucks for you, huh?”

“It does. But right now, Betty is going to help get you dressed and then we’re going to go get some breakfast. I doubt you ate this morning and a hot meal will warm you up.” Toni puts her arm around Chery’s waist and Betty does the same. They slowly lift her to an upright position and walk her over towards her locker.

Veronica and Toni retreat to a spot around the corner while Betty helps Cheryl get dressed and brushes through her hair, with the same brush that had been a projectile aimed at her just days ago.

“What were you guys talking about, when you said Archie saved Cheryl?”

“A couple months before you got here, when it came out that Clifford Blossom killed Jason, Cheryl went down to Sweetwater River. She send this really weird text saying that she was going to be with Jason. We went after her, and I think she was turning back towards us when she fell through the ice. Archie ran out, punched through the ice, and pulled her out.” Toni hangs onto Veronica’s every word.

“She tried to…?”

“Yeah,” Veronica says sadly.

“W-”

“We’re ready,” Betty interrupts. Cheryl looks pained and uncomfortable, but at least she is still breathing easily.

“Okay, let’s go. I’ll drive.” Toni holds hands with Cheryl while they walk out to the parking lot.

“Toni, we can’t all fit on your bike.” Veronica looks around to the Serpents’ usual parking spots.

“We’re not taking my bike.” Toni pulls the keys to Jason’s convertible out of her pocket and unlocks the passenger door to open it for Cheryl. Betty and Veronica exchange loaded glances as they hop in the back. Toni jumps across the hood, knowing it will make Cheryl laugh, and takes her place behind the wheel.

Not thinking, Toni puts her hand on Cheryl’s leg, just like always. She turns the radio dial to an oldies station Cheryl listens to sometimes and cruises to Pop’s. When they arrive, she opens the door for Cheryl and heads to the diner entrance when Veronica stops her.

“You guys get us a booth, I need to talk to Toni for a second,” she says, mostly to Betty.  She waits for the familiar jingle of the bell above the door before speaking again. “What the hell was that?”

“What was what?” Toni says, playing dumb.

“What was your whole Jack and Diane routine on the way here?” Veronica demands. Toni laughs at the indignation on her face.

“It’s nothing, Veronica. It’s just what we do.”

“It’s nothing to drive her-”

“It’s Jason’s car,” Toni corrects, because Cheryl isn’t there to. Veronica plugs on.

“It’s ‘nothing’ to put your hand on her leg? ‘Nothing’ that she wasn’t surprised by that?”

“Yeah, Veronica, it’s nothing. She doesn’t want me like that,” Toni reiterates. She curses the way her voice weakens at the end.

“And you’re fine with that? You’re fine to just go on wanting her, knowing she won’t let it go any further? Knowing that you’ll never kiss, much less anything else?” Veronica says pitifully. Toni wants to counter, to tell her about the other night, but she cannot betray Cheryl’s trust like that. Besides, Toni is starting to wonder if that night ever really happened. They haven’t spoken about it since and the memory feels a little more fake every time it crosses her mind.

“Whatever, Lodge. I’m starving, let’s go in.”

“You know truancy is against the law,” Pop Tate says when they enter, carrying trays of food.

“You gonna call the cops on us, Pop?” Veronica teases.

“We went ahead and ordered your usuals,” Betty explains. The two nod gratefully and take seats, Veronica with Betty and Toni with Cheryl.

The four are silent for a while as they eat. Cheryl and Veronica partake in identical egg white omelets while Betty digs into an All-American sampler of nearly every breakfast item on the menu, and Toni sticks to her usual stack of pancakes.

“God, this is good,” Toni says as she slumps back against the booth.

“That’s because it’s Blossom Maple Syrup,” Cheryl says as she runs a finger across Toni’s plate. Toni feels her face growing warm as she watches, seemingly in slow motion, as Cheryl licks the sticky sweet syrup running down her finger.

“Okay, that was just mean,” Veronica says.

“What was?” Cheryl asks innocently. Toni kicks Veronica under the table.

“Nothing, um, just Reggie texted me to let him know when I’m ready for a ‘real man.’ Idiot,” Veronica covers easily. Not bad, Toni thinks. It is believable, at least.

Betty doesn’t seem to believe it but she doesn’t press the subject.

“How are we splitting the bill today, ladies?” Pop Tate asks, walking towards the table with his pen and pad in hand.

“We aren’t, Pop, and I won’t need change,” Cheryl says smoothly as she hands him a crisp hundred-dollar bill.

“You didn’t have to do that, Cheryl.” Betty voices all three of the other girls’ thoughts.

“I know that. I also know that you three didn’t have to help me this morning, or skip class to take me out to breakfast and see that I was okay. We don’t have to do these things, but we do.” Toni’s heart swells as Cheryl expresses her gratitude.

“That’s really sweet, thanks. Where to next, gang?” Veronica asks.

“We are not a gang,” Toni says immediately. Gangs are not like this.

“Sorry, forgot we had an actual Serpent among us. Where to next, ladies?” Veronica corrects herself, but Toni latches onto her first sentence. She forgot Toni was a Serpent? Lord help her, was Toni going soft?

“I vote we go to the Bijou and catch a movie.” Betty must be absorbing Jughead’s interests, Toni thinks, breaking up her own train of thought. The group looks to Cheryl, who shrugs but agrees.

“I’m in.”

* * *

 

Cheryl never knew picking a movie would be this hard.

“I don’t think horror is a good idea for me right now,” she tells them.

“And I am not seeing a kids movie,” Toni demands. “What about that new comedy?”

“I heard it’s kind of crude,” Betty says uneasily.

“Loosen your ponytail, Cooper, it’s a comedy. Will you sweater catch fire if you hear someone swear?” Toni teases, looking at apprehensively at the only other movie on the list.

“That one seems okay,” Veronica points to the same spot Toni had been looking, the name of some cliché rom-com that came out last week.

“Yeah, that’s good,” Betty agrees.

“Yeah,” Cheryl says, preemptively outvoting Toni.

“Fine.”

Betty buys her ticket, as does Veronica, and Toni walks up to the box office window.

“Two for the rom-com,” she says dully. Before Cheryl can stop her, she pulls out a handful of bills, tips from work and grabs the tickets.

“I’ll get the popcorn.” Betty walks towards the concessions stand.

“We just ate.” Veronica shakes her head in disbelief.

“That freak you date must be rubbing off on you,” Cheryl says snidely.

“Yeah, yeah. Go get us good seats.”

“Okay, if this dumbass can get the girl, so can you,” Veronica whispers as the movie comes to a close.

“Shut up, Veronica,” Toni hisses, trying not to disturb Cheryl as she shifts their clasped hands.

“Come on,” Veronica sighs, “she’s clearly into you. That move with the syrup was not unintentional. Cherry Bombshell knows exactly what she’s doing.”

Toni wants to disagree, but Veronica’s point is valid. This is the same girl that had burned down her own house, or so the rumors said. She gets what she wants.

On screen, the dumbass boy proposes to his love interest and she decides he’s ‘changed’ enough to accept. This sparks a sex scene that’s both uninteresting and graphic. Toni looks over to where Cheryl stares at the screen, her face wrinkled in disgust, before turning back to Veronica.

“Maybe you’re right. But still, I’m not gonna be the one to make the first move.”

* * *

 

“The first move?” Betty laughs the next day as Veronica recounts their conversation. “Does she know they’re like, at least eight moves in?”

“I swear to God, B, they’re hopeless. Cheryl is too stubborn to admit that she’s into Toni, and Toni is too stubborn to call her on it.” Veronica shakes her head.

“Maybe they need some help moving things along,” Betty suggests.

“Scheming? Isn’t that a little dangerous?”

“What can I say, V, I’m part Blossom.”

* * *

 

“A sleepover? You’re going to a sleepover at Betty Cooper’s house?”

“You don’t have to say her name like that, Fangs. And yeah, I guess I am.”

“You don’t think they’re gonna question that shiner you’ve got?” Toni touches the puffy bruise forming around her eye.

“They will, but I don’t have to explain myself to them,” she says evenly.

“Any more than you have to explain yourself to me? What the hell are you doing walking around Ghoulies territory, lookin’ to get jumped?” Fangs pounds his fist against the wall of the trailer.

“So what if I was looking for a fight?”

“Jesus, Tiny, what is wrong with you? If you need to get the blood pumping, you and I can go a few rounds, a fair fight. Or you can go get laid.”

“I haven’t exactly been dating much lately,” Toni says dully.

“Who said anything about dating? It doesn’t have to be a serious thing. That, or you can finally pop Cherry Bombshell’s cherry,” Fangs says, winking. Toni swings at him and he catches her fist, laughing.

“Not you too,” Toni groans.

“Sorry, sis, but I have to ask. Is there really nothing going on between you two?”

Toni bites her lip nervously.

“What I’m about to tell you, you cannot tell anyone else, not even Sweet Pea,” she starts.

“Oh, shit. Go on,” Fangs encourages, nearly bursting with excitement.

“She kissed me. That night of the fight at the Whyte Wyrm, when I went back to her place to get my bike. I went up to her room to say hello –”

“Yes, Toni, get it on that Egyptian cotton,” Fangs interrupts.

“No, we didn’t seal the deal or anything. She just kissed me, on the cheek, and then my knuckles. Anywhere that I had bruises from the fight.” When Toni finishes, Fangs looks a little disappointed.

“That’s pretty tame, but it’s also definitely not the actions of a totally straight girl,” he reasons optimistically.

“Yeah, and I mean, I had gotten punched in the ribs a couple times, too,” Toni says quietly, rushing the words out.

“Oh, no way.”

“Yeah. She got down on her knees and…yeah. She kissed me. A lot. But never on the lips, and I didn’t kiss her once,” Toni finishes lamely.

“Well, then. For once, I hope your sleepover is exactly how guys always fantasize.” And with that, Fangs shoves Toni’s duffel bag in her arms and pushes her out the door.

* * *

 

“Truth or dare!” Betty shouts at three in the morning, when the four girls have run out of things to talk about.

“No, Betty, it’s late we should go to sleep,” Veronica whines.

“I need my beauty sleep,” Cheryl drawls.

“What for, babe?” Toni says sweetly.

“One truth each, one dare each,” Betty pleads.

“I’m in.” Toni shrugs. She wasn’t going to be able to sleep anyway.

“Fine. Who goes first?” Veronica looks pointed at Cheryl.

“Betty.”

“Fine. I want to do dare first.”

“I dare you to sext Jughead, but in the text you have to call him Forsythe Pendleton the third,” Veronica says, smirking.

“Oh, my god. No. I don’t even send stuff like that now.” Betty blushes bright red at the very thought.

“Fine. I dare you to sneak into your mom’s room and take whatever liquor she keeps in her nightstand.” Veronica waits expectantly for Betty to complete the challenge.

“It’s probably tequila,” Betty says and she stands up. The three girls follow her into the hall and hold their breath as she opens the door. Betty leans down and extracts a bottle of Cuervo from the nightstand and tiptoes back, punching the air in victory.

“I’m impressed, Cooper,” Toni admits. Cheryl looks to her nervously. Liquor and truth or dare aren’t a good combination for them.

“What’s my truth?” Betty asks, taking a swig from the bottle in her hand and passing it to her cousin.

“Who was your first kiss?” Cheryl asks, despite already knowing the answer. Betty looks to the carpet, picking at it nervously.

“Come on, B. I won’t get mad if it was Archie,” Veronica assures.

“It was. We were in middle school and somebody dared him to kiss the next girl he saw. He texted me and asked if I would come to where they were hanging out, as fast as I could. I guess he didn’t want it to be some stranger.” The story is so purely Riverdale in its innocence, Cheryl feels nauseous. She throws back another swig of the tequila and hangs it off to Toni.

“What about you, Cheryl? Who was your first kiss?” Toni asks curiously. Cheryl grimaces and tries to remember the story she usually tells. If she tells it wrong, Betty and Veronica will know and press her for an explanation. The truth will have to do.

“Her name was Heather,” she says quietly, hoping they won’t hear.

“Heather? That girl that transferred in the beginning of freshman year?” Betty asks.

“She was my best friend and we were, I don’t know. Anyways, we kissed, my mother caught us. She told her parents to take their daughter and run lest they face the Blossom wrath. And then she told me I was deviant and disgusting.”

The liquor must have gone to Cheryl’s head faster than she expected. That or she is just sick of not telling the truth.

Either way, the story is met with silence. Cheryl looks around the circle, waiting to be cast out. Instead she finds Betty with her jaw and fist clenched, Veronica crying silently, and Toni, dumbstruck.

“Cheryl…” Veronica starts, still crying.

“Don’t, Veronica. What’s my dare?” Cheryl suddenly hates the attention that’s on her, even if it is what she usually craves.

“I dare you to do something your mom would hate. Prove that she’s wrong about people like us, whatever that may be,” Veronica says fiercely.

That’s all it takes, and Cheryl is turning to Toni, whose face is still frozen in total disbelief. Cheryl leans in and puts one hand behind her neck. Betty and Veronica look to each other, trying to give some semblance of privacy. Cheryl doesn’t need it. Toni is the only other person she sees. Cheryl turns her head slightly and waits for Toni to show some sign of consent. Then, at long last, their lips crash together in a long, sweet kiss.

When Cheryl pulls away, Toni is blushing furiously and her brown eyes are black with lust, which Cheryl supposes is probably true of her own.

“Finally!” Betty shouts while Veronica whoops and whistles. Cheryl laughs, and Toni laughs, and then they can’t stop laughing. The four of them, exhausted and exhilarated laugh so hard they don’t hear Mrs. Cooper coming down the halls.

“What are the four of you doing? And what the hell are you doing with that bottle? Give me that!” she shouts. Betty winces and hands it over, now significantly emptier than before. “Now go to sleep, all of you. I’ll deal with you in the morning, Elizabeth.”

Even as she walks away, the girls can hear her muttering down the hall. “…unbelievable, delinquent children corrupting my daughter…”

The girls burst out laughing again and finally lay down to sleep. Cheryl is nearly there when she feels a hand reach out to hers.

“Goodnight, all,” she says softly. Betty and Veronica murmur unintelligible responses but Toni turns to look her dead in the eye, with an expression that burns right through her, before kissing her on the cheek and whispering.

“Goodnight.”


	6. behave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toni learns some things about the Cooper house. After sort of coming out, Cheryl sort of un-comes out, but also decides she needs to to know for sure, and there's only one way to do that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me? finally editing all the dumb little mistakes in past chapters? it's more likely than you think

“I am choosing to ignore what happened last night, because with all the madness in this town, I’d rather you be somewhere safe than out doing God knows what, “ Mrs. Cooper says as she carries a plate stacked with toast to the table. “That said, if I find you drinking in my house again, I will call all of your parents.”

“Sorry, Mrs. Cooper,” Veronica says guiltily. Cheryl nods and Toni looks to the floor, feigning shame. Toni cannot feel too guilty, she knows things about Alice Cooper’s past that she doubts even Betty knows.

“It’s forgotten. Now, eat up,” she says in a false-cheery tone. The table of ladies pass around a mountain of breakfast and converse easily.

“Now, Cheryl, you may know that Polly is due very soon. Would you like us to call you when she goes to the hospital?” Alice asks, pouring herself another cup of coffee.

“I would, thank you. I’m just sorry J.J. can’t be there to see them for himself.” Cheryl’s voice is tinged with sadness and Toni wants nothing more than to reach out and take her hand, to comfort her. After last night, she doesn’t exactly know where they stand. They had kissed, but it had been a dare. But the dare hadn’t been explicitly to kiss her, which was something Chery had chosen to do. And Cheryl had confessed that she liked girls. Or, one girl at least. Toni had no idea if Cheryl was ready to come out, or what she would come out as, or even if Cheryl liked her. There’s a major divide between casual attraction and wanting to be with someone. Beyond that, Toni didn’t even know if she wanted to be with Cheryl. Sure, they were fairly close friends, and sure, she _wanted_ her, but was that enough? The whole thing was enough to make Toni’s head spin.

“Polly is probably thinking the same thing,” Betty agrees. Just then, the doorbell rings and Betty gets up to answer it.

“Hello? Can I help you?” Toni hears Betty’s voice out in the hall.

“I’m here for the Serpent,” a harsh, familiar tone growls. At once, Toni and Alice are on their feet and hurrying towards the door.

“Betty, get back,” Alice hisses, closing the door behind them as they step out onto the porch. Toni stands in front of her, aware that the other girls are probably watching through the window, and recognizes the man as the same one who had put the shiner on her eye. He must have been stalking her, lying in wait to get his revenge. Had he been waiting all night?

“You –” he starts. Before he gets any further, Toni punches him squarely in the nose. He reels back and she hits him with a left hook, flooring him on the concrete porch. Toni grabs him by the shoulders and pulls him to his feet. Disoriented, he cocks his arm to fights back but Toni grabs it and puts a foot down behind his, tripping him backwards down the steps. His eyes roll back slightly and he makes no attempt to get back up. Toni leans down over him and gives a harsh warning.

“Leave this place and never come back, scumbag. You are going to leave these people alone, you are going to leave me alone. If I ever see you again, I’ll knife you so quick your head will spin.” For emphasis, Toni clicks open her switch and the assailant looks at it fearfully.

“Okay, that’s enough Antoinette. He’s leaving anyways,” Alice instructs. Toni lets go of him and puts away her knife. She walks back up the porch steps and watches as he walks away.

“How’d you know my name is Antoinette?” Toni asks, looking at Alice curiously.

“I knew your mother. I had stopped running in their circles, but when your mother and I were pregnant at the same time, I checked in on her. Trying to make sure she and Gladys were taken care of, getting prenatal vitamins and all that. She had already picked the name when you were born,” Alice explains. Toni had never thought about that before, that Alice, her mother, and Jughead’s mom had all had overlapping pregnancies. An image of herself, someday, pregnant and still wearing a Serpent jacket comes to the forefront of Toni’s mind. Even then, her child would be marked for a Serpent life.

“Did she ever say why she chose it?” Toni asks carefully. Her mother had passed away when she was just a few months old. Her first night back as a Serpent and she had gone overboard trying to prove she was still tough. She was quick with her blade, but somebody brought a gun to a knife fight.

“She wanted something regal,” Alice said simply. Toni was aware how strange their conversation must look to the girls gaping in the window. “Thank you, for getting rid of him. I’m afraid I’ve gotten rusty, and I don’t need something like that tarnishing my reputation.”

Toni is silent then for a minute. People still talk about Alice Cooper, abandoning her roots in favor of a pristine reputation.

“I was just channeling Malice,” Toni says eventually. Mrs. Cooper looks at her, stunned.

“What did you just say?”

“Malice, she’s like a Serpent urban legend. Some girl who used to kick ass and take names in a major way. Some people say she disappeared, others say she died. Us girls always joke about channeling Malice, the legend and all that.” Toni looks curiously at Alice. She had assumed that Malice was an old legend, one she would have heard in her day.

“Have you ever met her?” The question confuses Toni.

“Well, like I said, she’s kind of a myth…” Toni starts. Alice puts out her hand, as if to shake. Toni obliges, still utterly confused.

“Now you can say you’ve met her, and shaken her hand,” Alice says, her tone rich with pride. Toni’s jaw drops.

“You’re her? Does Betty know?”

“No, and you would do well not to tell her. Let’s go inside, they’re still staring.” Alice opens the door and the three girls rush towards Toni, checking to see if she’s okay.

“Who was that guy?” Betty demands.

“Nobody you have to worry about anymore, Cooper.” Toni shrugs, and looks over to Cheryl, who is looking at her with a slightly pained expression.

“Toni that was…” she starts.

“Really hot,” Veronica finishes. Toni laughs and looks back to Cheryl, who nods darkly. Toni suddenly wishes there were more creeps to fight. In fact, let every Serpent rival line up and fight her. She can beat them all if Cheryl is going to keep looking at her like that.

“I’m going to the Register, the Sunday edition still needs some polishing,” Alice announces. “Behave, girls, and call if you need anything. No doubt you have enough protection here, but still.”

The door closes behind her and Betty looks at Toni, puzzled.

“What were you two talking about back there?”

“Nothing, she was just thanking me,” Toni lies easily. “Let’s finish eating.”

The four girls head back to the table, but apparently only Toni is still hungry. They watch her awkwardly as she shovels down even more home fries and bacon.

“You know, just because I told a sad story last night and did…other things, it doesn’t mean I’m ready to,” Cheryl says urgently, refusing to make eye contact with any of them. “I’m not ready for people to know, least of all my mother.”

Toni tries not to feel too disappointed. At least now she has an answer to the questions plaguing her.

“No one has to know, Cheryl, we’re just glad you felt you could tell us,” Veronica says sincerely.

“Yeah, we just wanted you to feel comfortable with yourself and with us,” Betty assures. “I was like, five minutes away from daring you to tell about your se- ”

“Elizabeth Cooper!” Cheryl shouts, sounding eerily like Alice. “If you finish that sentence I’ll rip your ponytail right off your head.”

Toni is immediately curious, but clearly whatever Betty was going to say, Cheryl does not want them to know. Cheryl’s phone dings and she looks down and frowns. Must be a text from her mother.

“Toni, can you take me home?”

“Sure thing, Red,” Toni says quickly. She runs upstairs to grab her bag and meets Cheryl by the door.

“Cheryl, are you in a rush or is it okay if I talk to Toni for a minute?” Veronica asks.

“It’s fine,” Cheryl allows, opening the front door.

“I usually – ” Toni begins.

“I’ll go make sure she doesn’t have to open a car door,” Betty interrupts, rolling her eyes as she closes the door behind them. Toni blushes a bit at how obvious her intentions were.

“Are you okay? Should I get you a neck brace?”

“What are you talking about, Lodge? That guy didn’t even get a hand on me.”

“I don’t mean that,” Veronica says, as if the explanation should be obvious. “I mean for the whiplash you probably have. Within twelve hours, Cheryl sort of came out, kissed you, and then sort of un-came out.”

“She’s still working on things,” Toni says simply. “The kiss was nice, and I’ll happily accept more, but she’s still figuring things out.”

“First of all, swoon. If Archie and Cheryl don’t work out, respectively, then I’m snatching you up,” Veronica teases. “Second of all, I do hope you two figure something out together. You’ve got all the pieces, now you just need to make it fit.”

Veronica makes a surprising amount of sense.

“First of all, you couldn’t handle me, Lodge,” Toni volleys back. “Second of all, I hope you’re right.”

* * *

 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Cheryl says uncomfortably as Betty pulls her into a tight embrace.

“I’m hugging you, Cheryl. It’s what people do,” Betty explains, still not letting go.

“Do they usually do it for this long?” Betty is trying to be nice, and the hug is warm and all-encompassing, as a good hug should be, but no one has held her like this since Jason was saying goodbye.

Betty chuckles and releases her.

“Get used to it, Blossom. I’m a hugger, and we’re friends, and family.”

“I still don’t know how the situation warranted – ” Cheryl is not just deflecting. She honestly has no idea what should cause a hug, or anything else for that matter, versus what should not.

“I’m proud of you. Last night and this morning, you told the God’s honest truth. Besides, I’ve learned to take goodbyes a little more seriously,” Betty explains.

“Am I dying or something?” Cheryl jokes.

“Stop trying to ruin my nice moment. Oh good, here comes Toni.” Cheryl turns to where Betty is looking, where Toni descends the porch steps.

“I tried teaching her that physical affection isn’t a bad thing,” Betty calls out. “It didn’t work. Your turn to try.”

“Physical affection?” Toni responds, lowering her tone. “I’ll do my best.”

“Don’t be gross, Toni, that’s my cousin.” Betty’s reprimand is made with a laugh as Toni gets into the car.

“You guys are talking about me like I’m not even here,” Cheryl complains. Inwardly, she smiles at Betty’s feigned protectiveness. The Impala roars to life and Toni tears down the street. Cheryl wonders if Archie can hear them peel out. Toni puts her hand on her leg as always, but this time, she spreads her fingers out, gripping her thigh lightly. Cheryl responds by shifting in her seat slightly, making Toni’s hand run higher on her leg.

“Behave, Bombshell.” So she did notice. Toni’s grip tightens for just a second, just long enough to spark a bolt of heat in Cheryl’s abdomen. She leans over to the driver’s side and whispers in Toni’s ear.

“What if I don’t want to?”

“What happened to not being ready?” Toni says in a strained voice, keeping her eyes sharply on the road.

“In order to be ready to do anything,” Cheryl reasons, “I need to know for sure. I need to know for absolute certain, with evidence.”

“Evidence of what?” Toni looks horribly tense. Cheryl suddenly remembers the offer Toni had made that first day of the Southsiders’ arrival. _I could make it worth your time, Red. You’re so uptight, and I could help you loosen up._

“Evidence that I like girls, that I want to fuck girls,” Cheryl says slowly. The car swerves slightly as Toni looks at her, an almost manic expression in her eyes.

“How exactly do you plan to get proof of that?” Toni’s voice has dropped and Cheryl feels Toni’s grip tighten once again. This time, she doesn’t let go. Cheryl feels drunk with power and need.

“You’re going to fuck me,” she says simply, with as much innocence as she can muster, “like you said you would.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Toni says shakily, pulling the car to the side of the road and putting it in park.

“Why not, Topaz? Are you all talk?” Cheryl challenges, sliding closer, silently grateful that the classic car has no console to block her path. Toni’s eyes flash dangerously.

“Hardly, Blossom. The problem is, you might decide it’s not for you. And then you skip off, and I’m stuck with the image of you, screaming and shaking underneath me, for the rest of my life, and then we can’t be friends anymore.” Toni’s voice is stronger now, and still low. Cheryl nearly whines at the picture she’s painting. She knows she’s probably dripping wet, and here Toni is, telling her this is a bad idea.

On impulse, Cheryl climbs across her lap, facing her as she puts on knee on either side of Toni.

“Screaming and shaking, huh, Topaz? Prove it,” she whispers. Toni puts one hand on her hips and another behind her neck and pulls her down into a lipstick-ruining kiss. Cheryl pants slightly as Toni kisses every inch of her neck, moving her hips slightly to make Cheryl crazy.

Toni pulls a handful of Cheryl’s red hair and she whimpers, grinding helplessly against the girl underneath her.

“You weren’t kidding, you really do like to have your hair pulled,” Toni says haughtily.

“Don’t get cocky,” Cheryl says, trying to ignore the way Toni’s confidence affects her.

Toni kisses her again, her tongue slipping past Cheryl’s lips, pulling a satisfied hum from deep within.

“Are you still worried it might not be for me?” Cheryl teases.

“Do you still need ‘evidence’ or is this enough?” Toni replies harshly, palming her ass roughly.

She’s asking if they should stop, Cheryl realizes, which they probably should. She was supposed to be at Thistlehouse by now for a family meeting, and besides that, losing her virginity in a car along the side of the road isn’t exactly what Cheryl had dreamed about.

“It’s enough,” she breathes. “For now.”

“For now,” Toni repeats.

“I still need to know for sure, at least once.” Cheryl tries not to think about how wrecked she must look right now. She crosses her legs tightly and nods towards the gearshift, so Toni knows to get going.

“From what I know of empirical evidence,” Toni starts, “more tests provide better results.”

“Don’t push your luck,” Cheryl reprimands.

“Luck has nothin’ to do with it, babe. Or have you forgotten? You’re the one who said you needed me to fuck you.” God, did she sound like that when she had said it? Toni’s vulgar word choice combined with her self-assured tone only worsened Cheryl’s wanting.

“I didn’t say I needed it, I said you would,” she defends weakly. Toni puts her hand back on her leg, where this had all started. She can probably feel the throbbing heat between her legs. In fact, she could relieve it if she just moved her hand a little higher and…

“You didn’t have to say it. I know.”

* * *

 

“Okay, last thing on the agenda. Some of you need to settle up some pretty big tabs here at the Wyrm. The new policy is to pay up at the end of every month. Cash flow is getting tight and pretty soon we’ll be insolvent,” Hogeye explains. Every third Saturday of the month is a Serpent meeting and Toni listens as she tends bar. She’s glad to hear that people will be settling tabs. The last few paychecks haven’t been paychecks at all, just hastily written IOU’s.

Toni’s phone dings and she checks the notification, a text from Cheryl. She puts her phone back in her pocket, resolving to answer once the meeting finishes. It’s almost over anyway, but per Hogeye’s instructions, she’ll soon be taking payments from half the bar.

Her phone dings again. Toni sighs and pulls it out.

_Are you busy right now?_

_Seems so. Come over when you get done doing whatever you’re doing._

_We’re having a meeting. It might be late._

_Come anyway. I’ll be waiting._

Fuck. Toni had been battling images all evening of Cheryl with her hair wildly out of place, her smudged lipstick and wide pupils in her soft brown eyes. And now she was waiting for her, no doubt to finish what they had started earlier.

Toni nearly misses it when they shout the first law, and the meeting breaks up. She grabs the cash box and a notepad where they keep track of everyone’s debts as people pull out their wallets.

An hour later, Hogeye instructs Toni to go ahead and take what she’s owed. She counts out nearly a thousand dollars, signs her IOU’s back to the bar and walks back from the back room. She takes her half of the tips and runs out to hop on her bike. She wants to go straight to Cheryl’s but first she stops at her uncle’s trailer. He’s passed out, as she knew he would be, and she sneaks past him to hide the cash in a cut out copy of _The Great Gatsby._ It was her own little joke, and the stacks of cash inside were her very own green light at the end of the pier.

Toni keeps only enough cash on her person for gas and a few meals. Who knows when Jake will be sober enough to buy groceries again?

After stopping at the gas station, Toni can finally head north. It takes all her self control to keep it under sixty. Riverdale cops would just as soon arrest as look at her, and that’s if she’s lucky.

At last, she arrives at Thistlehouse. Instead of parking her bike behind a couple trees, Toni stops dead when she sees someone, presumably Cheryl, waiting for her in the driveway.

“Who are you and what are you doing on my property?” the harsh voice demands. Toni gets off her bike and walks towards the voice. Under the porchlight, Toni recognizes the red hair and sharp jaw.

Penelope Blossom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i actually like some things about this chapter, especially being able to fit in my Opinions about Alice's presence in the Serpents even years after abandoning them.


	7. happiness looks good on you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The confrontation. The night of. The interruptions continue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A slightly shorter chapter, but still, nice to get in my Thoughts about the fact that Jason went to the Wyrm originally and Toni works there.

“I won’t say it again. Who are you and what are you doing on my property?” Behind Penelope, Cheryl cowers against the wall in the foyer. It’s a look Toni has never seen on her before, and it’s unnerving. What must Penelope be like to make Cheryl look so small?

“I’m here to talk to Cheryl,” Toni lies. “We have literature together and I don’t understand the reading.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised, you snakes are all brainless heathens,” Penelope hisses. If she weren’t Cheryl’s mother, if she weren’t a Blossom, if she didn’t probably have such an expensive lawyer, Toni would have knocked her lights out by now. Her fist is still a bit sore from this morning anyway, and Toni needs to keep herself out of juvie.

“Well, that’s rude,” Toni admonishes after a beat. Penelope’s face contorts in rage.

“You will not speak to me like this. You and your kind destroyed my son!” The mention of Jason startles Toni. Despite being a horrific cow, the woman has a point.

“It’s true, I met Jason when he first came to the Whyte Wyrm,” Toni starts cautiously. Cheryl’s look of shock matches her mother’s uncannily.

“You met him?” Cheryl asks. She takes a step forward, but Penelope holds her back.

“Yes. That first night, when he came looking for an escape, to be with Polly, F.P. told me to watch him while they decided what to do.”

“Before they killed my son!” Penelope sobs hysterically.

“I’m sorry ma’am, but we both know that is not what happened.”

Cheryl looks to her mother for a second, shocked by her delusion, and turns back to let Toni continue.

“F.P. told me to watch him. I poured him a beer, which he refused to drink. I flirted with him, per F.P. orders –”

“Filthy harlot! As if a Blossom could ever –” Toni ignores Penelope’s muttering, taking in Cheryl’s look of betrayal.

“It didn’t matter. F.P. wanted me to see if he was really in love with Polly, if he really loved her enough to do what they asked of him in exchange for a life with her. It was a test.”

At this point, Toni is not sure why she is telling Penelope this, but she prays that at least Cheryl will believe her.

“He passed the test. He pushed away the beer, and pulled out his phone from that stupid letterman’s jacket. He showed me a picture of Polly, and another of Cheryl. Said he could hardly stand to leave Cheryl behind, but that Polly needed him. I told F.P. what happened and that’s when they started making arrangements.”

“A likely story, scum,” Penelope hisses. “What are those in your hand?”

Toni looks down at her left hand. She had forgotten entirely about the half dozen pink and red roses she had bought at the gas station.

“They’re for Cheryl,” Toni says awkwardly. The truth has worked this far, so she might as well try to continue, with some editing. “I would have gone with yellow but these fit the Blossom aesthetic a bit better, wouldn’t you say?”

“Keep our name out of your mouth, snake.”

“Again, rude. Anyways, I’m going to go. Clearly you don’t want me around Cheryl, and I’m not much for hanging around heinous bitches like you.” Toni drops the flowers and walks slowly backwards, basking in the affronted look Penelope gives her.

Behind her, Cheryl is teary-eyed but stifling a laugh. The last few minutes have been a roller coaster for both of them, from their original intentions which were less than pure, to talking about Jason, to insulting Penelope Blossom.

“If I see that hideous pink hair or any other part of you on this property again, I’ll call the police!”

“Mrs. Blossom, if I decide to come back, you’ll know it. And I won’t be alone,” Toni calls back to her, pulling her hair away to uncover the Serpent embroidered on the back of her jacket.

“Is that threat?” Penelope shouts. Toni ignores her, but calls out to Cheryl as she starts up her motorcycle.

“See you at Vixens practice, Captain!”

* * *

 

Cheryl sits in her room and tries to reconcile the events of the evening.

She had invited Toni over. For sex. She wanted to have sex with Toni.

What the fuck was she thinking?

And then, her mother had come home early. She had heard Toni’s bike in the drive.

Toni had gone toe to toe with Penelope Blossom. Told them about Jason in his final days. Called her mother a heinous bitch. Vaguely threatened her with a Serpent army.

Toni had brought flowers for her.

Then her knight in shining armor had gotten back on her steed and left, having endured insult after insult from her mother, without a word of defense from her.

Cheryl got out her phone and typed out an apology.

 

_I’m so sorry about tonight. I can’t believe that happened._

_No problem, Red. Sorry I didn’t tell you that stuff about your brother before._

_It was still nice to hear, it’s nice knowing that there is more yet that I might learn about him._

_Can I ask, what photo of me did he show you?_

_Was it that one from the last day of school last year?_

_I don’t think so_

_You were wearing a red dress (shocker) and he was wearing a suit_

_You were cracking up about something_

_Oh I hate that photo_

_We were getting our portraits done and Jason kept making me laugh_

_Happiness looks good on you_

Cheryl grins dopily at her phone.

 

_Thanks_

_I still can’t believe how this night turned out_

_Yeah, I’ll be honest I had other things in mind as well_

_Like what?_

_I think you know_

_How can I be sure if you don’t tell me?_

This is a dangerous game Cheryl is playing, but she’s always liked to gamble.

 

_Well I had hoped to finish what you started in the car earlier today_

_What I started? You started it by putting your hand on my thigh like that!_

_You started it when you kissed me last night_

_Well if we’re going by that logic then you started in weeks ago_

_When you were flirting with me in lit_

_No, by that logic you started it by being so damn hot_

_Flattery will get you everywhere, Topaz_

_Well there’s really only one place I’m looking to get, Bombshell_

_Toni!_

_Don’t know how that’s going to happen now_

_Can’t risk getting caught at your place_

Cheryl hadn’t thought of that. Because of the confrontation, she can’t risk inviting Toni over, even as friends. Let alone as, whatever they might be.

_You’ll think of a proper place, I’m sure_

_Oh, it’s up to me now?_

_It is. Now I’m going to get changed and go to sleep. Goodnight._

_Enjoy your silk pajamas or whatever you rich people wear to bed_

_Want to see?_

_Uh_

_Yes_

_Please_

Cheryl laughs slightly, imagining the look on Toni’s face. She strips off her shorts and shirt and slips on a silk negligee which she closes only loosely and stands in front of one of her full length mirrors. She snaps a few photos and picks the best one to send. Cheryl feels a touch nervous when she hits send.

* * *

 

“Toni, who the hell are you texting?” Sweet Pea demands, sloshing his beer as he reaches for her phone. After the Penelope Blossom incident, Toni had decided to unwind at the Wyrm and try not to think about any missed opportunities that may have occurred.

“Give that back!” she shouts, trying vain to reach her phone. Her phone buzzes in his hand and he laughs as he opens it up.

“Oh shit, Toni,” he says awkwardly, looking at the screen. “It’s for you.”

“No shit, Sweet Pea,” Toni huffs. She takes the phone and looks down. Cheryl, wearing (by only the loosest of definitions) a navy blue silk robe. Her body is a genuine masterpiece, and she's left little to the imagination.

Toni’s jaw drops. She types out a quick reply.

 

_Fuck, you’re so gorgeous_

_Correct. Goodnight, Toni._

_Wow. Goodnight. Sweet dreams babe, I know mine will be._

 

When Toni looks up from her phone, Fangs is looking at her cluelessly and Sweet Pea is still blushing uncomfortably. Toni puts her phone in her pocket and promptly smacks Sweet Pea across the face.

“What was that for?” he complains.

“For seeing things you shouldn’t have!” she shouts indignantly.

“Sorry, I know Red is for your eyes only.” At this point, Fangs catches on.

“Oh shit, Toni, yes. Congrats! Let me get you another drink!” he says as he claps her shoulder, making his way to the bar.

“It’s not like that!” she says in vain. It is like that. Things with Cheryl are like that now. A thrill runs through Toni at the very thought.

Fangs shoves a shot of tequila in her hand and Toni is overcome with the memory of Cheryl’s tequila tinged lips kissing hers in Betty Cooper’s bedroom.

She throws the shot back.

“So when did it happen?” Sweet Pea asks.

“It hasn’t,” Toni replies quickly.

“Yet,” Fangs adds slyly.

“No, it’s not going to. She’s just messing with me.” Toni hates lying to them but Cheryl is not ready for people to know things, and even if she was, there would be nothing to tell. They aren’t dating.

“God, the Blossoms really are twisted.” Toni laughs darkly at Fangs’ joke.

“You have no idea.”

* * *

 

Cheryl wakes up frustrated, in every sense of the word. Another X-rated dream plagued her throughout the night. Beyond that, she and Toni still haven’t actually gotten the evidence she so desperately needs.

Then a bird outside her window had woken her well before dawn.

All in all, it hasn’t been a great morning, but it gets better when Toni shows up in the locker room.

“I don’t know if you know this, Red, but I’m kind of into photography, If you want any more photos taken of you, I’d be happy to do it,” Toni says smugly, holding up her camera. What had Cheryl been thinking when she sent that photo?

If she were being honest, she might say she was thinking that Toni made her crazy and she wanted to return the favor, just once.

“No paparazzi, please,” Cheryl says airily. Toni laughs and pulls off her shirt to change. Cheryl’s mind flips back to Toni’s tryout, her toned stomach dripping sweat as she conquered the pull up challenge Cheryl had given her. The scar above the top of her shorts. What was that from?

She wants to know every inch of Toni’s skin, to see and touch and bask in the heat between them.

Cheryl snaps back to reality when Betty clears her throat, a not so subtle reminder not to stare. She shakes her head and runs a hand through her hair to pull it up into a ponytail. Cheryl can’t help but think of Toni’s hand tugging on it as she ravaged her neck, her little quip about actually liking it, in the front seat of the car.

Cheryl puts a foot up on the bench to tie her shoes.

Then Toni slips out of her jeans. Her legs look muscular and smooth to the touch. Cheryl wonders why Toni doesn’t wear shorts more. Probably so as not to cause car wrecks when she walks down the street.

Under the hem of her Vixens shirt, just as she slips on her practice shorts, Cheryl spots the edge of soft pink boyshorts. She really should not be staring like this. Toni catches her eye and smirks, probably at the blush she can feel on her cheeks.

“See something you like, babe?” Toni taunts.

“Just someone out of uniform. Next time, remember the socks,” Cheryl snaps, feigning annoyance.

Cheryl walks out into the gym and announces that they’re going to have a bit of a competition this morning, starting with a mile race.

Cheryl keeps up easily with the majority of the group, but Josie and Midge, two of the quickest and slightest girls, come in first.

Betty and Toni nearly tie in the bench press competition.

“Well done, cousin, you beat Toni’s max by ten pounds,” Cheryl says, rolling her eyes at Veronica, who pretends to fan herself. “Next up is an endurance test. Wall sits.”

This is Cheryl’s favorite contest by far.

Toni takes a spot next to Cheryl against the wall. All the girls make it through the first minute, their usual for each practice.

By two minutes, Josie and Midge, along with a few others tap out.

Betty is the next to fall.

“My money’s on Veronica,” she says as gets back up.

“No way, Cheryl’s got this,” Josie disagrees.

“Bet.” Betty puts out her hand to shake.

“Winner gets a milkshake from Pop’s.” Josie shakes Betty’s hand, still watching the three remaining girls fight to stay in it.

“I’ll take a milkshake and fries from each of you when Toni wins,” Midge says, reaching out to shake both their hands.

At just past three minutes, Veronica lets herself slide down the wall. Cheryl doesn’t smile or comment, too busy holding herself upright. She can feel a slight tremble in her thighs, telling her to give up.

Toni must notice the slight movement.

“It’s okay if your legs start shakin’, babe. In fact, I encourage it.”

Cheryl squeaks and loses her concentration, hitting the floor. Midge laughs and puts out a hand to pull her up.

“Thanks for winning me a bet, Captain.”

Cheryl turns around to see Toni still in position against the wall.

“That was dirty, Topaz,” she huffs.

“Baby, I haven’t even begun to get dirty,” Toni laughs, pushing herself up from the wall. Cheryl’s stomach clenches slightly at the implications.

“That’s all for today, Vixens,” she shouts. Instead of following the rest of them to the locker room, Toni grabs her and pulls her into a supply closet full of basketballs and a volleyball net.

“What are you – ” Cheryl starts to speak but Toni shoves her against the door and kisses her deeply.

“I have been wanting to do this since you sent that little pic last night,” Toni says, running her hands up the Cheryl’s shirt until her hands settle on her waist.

“And what is this, exactly?” Cheryl asks, kissing Toni’s jawline. Cheryl runs a hand up her neck and pulls out the hair tie so that she can run her hand through Toni’s pink and blonde curls.

“It’s whatever you want it to be,” Toni says softly. She tugs slightly on Cheryl’s shirt and Cheryl nods, allowing Toni to pull it off. Cheryl unties her hair and lets it fall down on her bare shoulders while Toni stares at her.

“Fuck. A photo is one thing but…” she trails off weakly. Toni kisses her again and again before moving down her neck, planting kisses across her chest. Cheryl whines, feeling a now-familiar heat course through her.

“Toni,” she breathes, when she feels Toni’s lips move down to the edge of her shorts. Toni stops to look up at her, her brown eyes shining with the promise of satisfaction.

“We can stop,” she offers, standing up straight. “Or we can keep going?”

Toni pulls off her own shirt and Cheryl feels the heady spell of arousal hit her even harder. She thinks of that night in her bedroom, pressing kisses to Toni’s ribs.

Suddenly, Cheryl pulls Toni close, running her hands over every inch of newly-exposed skin. Tenderly, she palms Toni’s breasts, reveling in the intimacy of it all.

Toni allows the gently exploration for just a minute before pushing Cheryl against the door once again, sliding her leg in between Cheryl’s.

Cheryl moans and Toni’s eyes go wide. She puts a hand over Cheryl’s mouth.

“We have to be quiet,” she commands. Cheryl nods eagerly, thankful to be muffled when Toni squeezes her breasts. Cheryl lets her eyes fall closed, feels Toni unclip her bra and moves her arms slightly to let it fall off of her. Without warning, Toni starts to ravage her chest once again, this time ghosting her lips over her nipple. Cheryl whimpers and clenches her legs together, trying to achieve some relief for the fire burning in her abdomen.

 Toni runs her free hand down to the top of Cheryl’s shorts, gripping them and the lace underwear underneath. Cheryl moans again at her hand against her skin. Toni looks at Cheryl with a hint of concern.

“I can give you what you need right now, if you don’t mind your first time being in a closet. Literally, in a closet,” Toni stresses, laughing and pulling away her hand to let Cheryl answer.

Cheryl is about to say that she doesn’t give a damn when there’s a knock on the door. Both of them jump and Cheryl reaches for the door handle on instinct, wanting to yell at whoever interrupted them.

“Don’t! Don’t open the door!," the interruptor nearly shrieks, "Please, get dressed first. First period starts in five minutes and there’s going to be a gym class in here that will probably need stuff from in there."

Never has the voice of Betty Cooper been more unwelcome.

Cheryl looks at Toni, who sighs and grabs her shirt and bra and hands it to her. Toni pulls her own shirt back on, and as quickly as possible, they exit the closet. Betty still has her eyes covered and Veronica is crying laughing.

“Just so you know, cousin,” Cheryl hisses. “There was nothing going on. We were just talking.”

 Veronica laughs even harder, reaching for something in her purse.

“I didn’t know talking could ruin lipstick like that,” she laughs, handing each of them a makeup wipe. Cheryl is mortified, but accepts the wipe and starts cleaning herself up. She looks to Toni, who looks like any second she might tear the school down brick by brick.

“Oh, and since when did we get a new captain?” Betty taunts, pulling on Toni’s shirt. Sure enough, in royal blue block letters, the shirt reads HBIC. Veronica doubles over laughing and Cheryl gives in too. Toni looks over her shoulder and grimaces.

“Five more minutes,” Toni grumbles. “Do you know what I could have done with five more minutes?”

Toni’s suggestive remark does nothing for the redness in Cheryl’s cheeks, nor for Veronica’s gut-busting laughter.

“I’m sure she’ll find out soon enough,” Veronica teases, while Betty looks vaguely offended.

“That’s my cousin!” she admonishes.

“You could have just left us well enough alone,” Toni shoots back. “How did you draw the short straw anyway, Betty?”

“Veronica was the one who noticed you were gone but she was laughing too hard to talk, so I had to do it. Better us than Coach Clayton.”

“That’s for sure,” Cheryl agrees. The thought alone makes her want to evaporate on the spot.

“Yeah, I guess,” Toni allows. “You two, get to class. We don’t all four need to be late.”

"Fine," Veronica says breezily, "but you two, make sure you actually make it to class. The showers may look tempting, but try to stay strong."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How long can I keep this going until they finally seal the deal? Tune in next chapter to find out.


	8. what is it like

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Penelope goes out of town for the weekend, taking Nana Rose with her and Cheryl decides to do the normal thing - throw a party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a million years since I updated but when I was writing earlier this summer, it was an outlet due to the fact that I hadn't seen my girlfriend in three months. Now I am with her and back at school so I am extremely busy. In exchange for the long wait, I wrote a longer chapter and hopefully reached what you've all been waiting for. Please know that I've read each of your comments during my slight hiatus and every single one helped me to get this chapter out.
> 
> Also if I have to do homework, so do you.
> 
> Required listening
> 
> Red - Dustin Lynch  
> Sweet Little Sixteen - Chuck Berry  
> River - Bishop Briggs  
> Song For Another Time - Old Dominion

"Your mother is out of town for the weekend and you decided to invite over the entire school for a blowout of hormones and beer?" Toni whines when Cheryl hands her the embossed invitation.

"That's what teenagers do when their parents go out of town," Cheryl reasons. Far be it from her to do anything abnormal. "They have guests over and do rebellious, if cliche, things."

Toni puts a hand on Cheryl's waist and the other on the locker behind her, effectively trapping her. "Yeah, but what I'm saying is you could have had just one guest over and quite the teenage rebellion if you played your cards right, Red."

Cheryl swallows slowly at the implications. Toni's eyes drilling into her, the possessive hand on her waist is too much and not enough, and here she is, offering more. Cheryl wants more than anything to kiss her, to do something to drive her crazy, to even the goddamn score just a little bit so she doesn't look like the simpering fool she's being right now.

Still, they're standing in a school corridor and she is not ready for that kind of attention yet.

"I'm not promising anything Topaz, but please come to the party. Who knows? In a house with fifty-three rooms, we may find the time a place for a moment of privacy." Cheryl is careful to remain vague but enticing, but all it does is make Toni roll her eyes. Why does it feel like Toni can see right through her?

"I'm going to need more than a moment, Bombshell." Toni's voice is low. This isn't the mock flirting they usually engage in. This is real, and it is only for her, and again, it is too much. Best to stick with what she knows.

"Oh, you need it, do you?" Cheryl teases, enjoying Toni's response: a tightened grip on her waist and a slightly manic look in her eye.

"I misspoke, I can work with a moment but after I'm done you'll want me for the rest of the night."

* * *

 

"Are you really going to make us go to a party so that you have company while you pine from a dark corner?" The lunch room is roaring with plans for the upcoming Blossom blowout, but it seems not everyone wants in.

"It's not like that, Fogarty. Things between us and the Bulldogs are settling down and it's time to be a part of this school. We don't have to be outsiders forever," Toni pleads. Sweet Pea scoffs.

"We're always gonna be outsiders to them, Tiny. We're greasers, they're Socs."

"Hold up, did you actually read The Outsiders? Sweets, I'm so proud." Toni knows she sounds a bit sarcastic, but her fondness for Sweet Pea and that novel are genuine.

"Yeah, I read it," Sweet Pea blushes and deflects. "But look at you, you're practically living it."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Aw, come on, Toni," Fangs interjects. "Greasy teenaged gang member who falls for a redheaded socialite from the other side of town named Cherry?"

"I am not greasy!" Toni punches Fangs playfully in the arm.

"Okay, okay."

"And I am not falling for Cheryl!" Toni adds vehemently.

"And yet look which one you thought to deny first," Sweet Pea teases.

"Just for that, you guys are coming with me to the party tonight." 

* * *

 

"Welcome to Thistlehouse. The party's mostly in the living room and around the pool out back. Drinks are at the bar, and please do not go upstairs." Cheryl's well practiced spiel makes Fangs laugh as he walks right past her to get a drink. Sweet Pea follows close behind.

"Does that last rule apply to everybody?" Toni asks, keeping her voice low. Cheryl blushes slightly but straightens herself up.

"It does. I must be a good host to my guests. Run along, enjoy the party. Possibly we'll have a moment later to...talk."

"Just talk?" Toni feigns innocence, pulling Cheryl into a hug for show while whispering in her ear. "I was hoping for a scream." Cheryl slumps against her slightly and Toni fights the urge to pick her up and carry her to the nearest bed right then and there, but behind them, more guests are approaching.

"See you around, Cheryl," Toni says softly as she lets go. She heads toward the bar and asks the hired bartender for a shot of whiskey.

"That bad, huh?" Behind Toni, the voice of Betty Cooper breaks through the drone of the party.

"Nope, just planning to get that drunk."

"And I'm assuming that's thanks to my dear cousin?" As she speaks, Betty nods to the bartender who smiles and starts to pour a Shirley Temple.

"Cheryl didn't do anything," Toni assures before knocking back her shot and shoving the empty glass back towards the bartender.

"But that's the problem, right?" Veronica asks, appearing from nowhere. "She hasn't done  _anything._ "

"I'm in no rush." Toni downs another shot and looks past the interfering girls, looking for her Serpent brothers. Even in this crowd, their hulking frames should be easy to spot and yet, they're nowhere to be seen.

"Your boys are currently ejecting Chuck Clayton, per Cheryl's request," Betty explains knowingly.

"That's nice of them."

"Putting those beautiful muscles to good use," Veronica adds.

"Okay seriously, Lodge, do your eyes only register people with washboard abs? Can you physically see anyone who doesn't have rippling biceps?" Toni taunts, laughing.

"Only if I squint. That's why Jughead always looks a little blurry to me."

"Rude!" Betty squeaks.

"It's also why I can see you with 20/20 vision." Veronica runs her hands over Toni's slight but well-muscled arms. Laughing, Toni flexes slightly and sits up straighter so her crop top reveals her toned abdomen.

"Okay, wow," Veronica breathes. "You should wear crop tops more often." Toni feels a little uncomfortable when Veronica puts a hand flat against her stomach, running a thumb over the ridges of her abs, knowing that Archie probably wouldn't appreciate this too much. Still, it's good for her ego. Lord, even Cheryl's pattern of speech is infecting her mind.

"Oh, hi Cheryl," Betty says sweetly. Toni snaps her head up so quick she nearly gives herself whiplash. Cheryl stares at her stony-faced as Veronica pulls her hand away.

"Good evening, cousin," Cheryl responds, still not looking at Betty. "Do you mind if I borrow Toni for a second?"

"She's all yours," Veronica says lightly, pushing Toni forward. She walks towards Cheryl, out of earshot from the other girls.

"Something wrong, babe?"

"Not at all, just thought I should let you know that I probably won't get much time with you tonight." Cheryl doesn't look near as disappointed by this as Toni is. In fact, she looks to be the cheery, if disconcerting, girl that had tried to throw the Serpent out of her school all those weeks ago.  Toni wants to ask why but she knows better. If Cheryl is playing it cool, so can she.

"That's fine, I'll just hang out with the boys when they get back from dealing with Chuck."

"Yes, I appreciate their doing that. You're lucky, it's awfully handy to have two towering young men in your back pocket." Cheryl and Toni watch as Fangs and Sweet Pea return, laughing and mocking Chuck's indignant face.

"Oh, please. They look tough, but when the heat is on they look to me." Toni draws herself up to her full height, shoving her hands in the pocket of her Serpent jacket. Cheryl laughs, which makes Toni frown.

"Toni's right," Fangs interrupts, leaning his head over Toni's shoulder. "She may look little, but she fights dirty."

"Yeah, she's a hairpuller," Sweet Pea adds.

"Of course, you already know that, right, Red?" Fangs winks at Cheryl whose face goes impossibly whiter. Toni jams her elbow into Fangs' stomach, making him double over and fall, spilling his beer.

"Will you ever learn to shut your damn mouth? I already told you it isn't like that." Toni's nearly shouting at Fangs, still on the floor. He puts his hands up in surrender and Sweet Pea offers a hand to pull him to his feet. The stares of surrounding partygoers dissipate as their classmates turn from the temporary disruption back to their own conversations.

"Sorry, Antoinette." Fangs only uses Toni's full name when he's being serious, so she nods, accepting his apology. "Come on, Sweets. We're both about four drinks behind the rest of the party."

"I should go circulate among my guests," Cheryl says, already walking away.

"Cheryl..."

"Not now, Toni."

* * *

 

A few hours and several drinks later, Cheryl is feeling much better than she had at the beginning of the night. Never mind that Veronica had been feeling up her - well, Toni. Never mind that Chuck Clayton had tried to barge in uninvited or that Fangs Fogarty seemed to think she was sleeping with Toni. Which she wasn't, not yet at least. And even if she was, it need not be public knowledge.

All those little annoyances were washed away by the dizzying effects of alcohol and pounding music. After dancing with nearly every person in attendance, Cheryl goes looking for the one person she hasn't seen in hours. Inside the living room, Toni chats dully with Betty and Kevin while Veronica and Archie make out unabashedly on one of the other couches.

"Toni! Just who I was looking for," Cheryl says as she sits down in her lap. Betty scoots away, ostensibly making room for her to sit. As if she would ever sit on the couch when Toni makes a much better throne.

"Are you having a good time?" Toni laughs as she puts her arms around Cheryl's waist. The warmth of Toni’s embrace makes Cheryl want to kick everyone out right now, but she knows she cannot do that.

"I would be having a better time if you would come dance with me." Cheryl plants a dramatic kiss to Toni's cheek, giggling at her signature lip color left imprinted on Toni's face. And what a face it is, sweet and spritely in its composure but hardened by faded scars, trophies of her Serpent upbringing. She's desperate to know the story behind each mark. Which one is the oldest? Are they all from fights or is Toni an occasional klutz? Which ones didn't hurt at all and which ones took weeks to heal?

"Cheryl?" Toni's voice breaks through her drunken musings.

"What?"

"I said, I'll go dance with you, but you have to get off of me first. Unless you're planning a different kind of dance," Toni adds, winking. Cheryl responds to the challenge gamely, looking Toni dead in the eyes before moving her hips in a slow circle.

"Okay!" Kevin says uncomfortably. "Betty, do you want to go with me to get another drink?"

"Good plan, Kev," Betty agrees.

"Bye now, lovebirds. Oh, and here, you might need this." Kevin pulls out his wallet and procures a something in a shiny, square wrapper. Laughing, he tosses it into Cheryl's lap before leading Betty towards the bar. If Cheryl's face suddenly feels hot looking at the condom wrapper, well that's just the alcohol.

"Thanks, Keller, but we won't need this. They might, though." Toni picks it up and flings it like a playing card at Veronica and Archie, who pulls his hand out of Veronica's dark locks just in time to catch the projectile and shove it in his back pocket.

"Now are we dancing or what?" Without warning, Toni stands up, bringing Cheryl with her in a bridal carry. Cheryl remembers with some difficulty the morning after an onslaught of nightmares about Jason, how Toni had carried her so delicately out to the car.

This is different.

This is showing off, both to her and those around them, a reminder of her physical strength and their strange relationship. Anyone else who did this would find themselves on the other side of a table from the Blossom lawyer by nightfall.

Cheryl locks eyes with Toni, acknowledging the gesture and feels the grasp around her loosen, letting her feet hit the floor.

“Shall we?” Cheryl offers her hand and turns towards to glass doors, leading them out to where the Pussycats’ party-curated playlist pours from the speaker system surrounding the pool.

Toni is not a bad dancer, Cheryl learns. She knows a little bit of everything and doesn’t take herself too seriously. Josie’s playlist ranges over nearly a century of pop music. Her varying taste has Cheryl and Toni slow dancing at one point, then bopping along to some fifties tune. Toni puts one hand on Cheryl’s waist and clasps her hand with the other, stepping in time to Sweet Little Sixteen, laughing joyously until someone taps on Cheryl’s shoulder.

“Mind if we cut in, ladies?” Sweet Pea asks cheerfully. Toni relinquishes her grasp on Cheryl’s waist and spins her towards him. Cheryl hardly knows what to do but Sweet Pea is surprisingly gentle when he takes Toni’s place, swaying her in time with the music. At her left, Fangs and Toni swing along together happily.

“Where did you learn to dance, Jolly Green Giant?” Sweet Pea chuckles at her sudden question.

“That’s pretty good. I haven’t heard that one. When we were about nine or ten, our girl Antoinette found photos of her mother in a dance competition. Told us she was gonna sign up for classes, enroll with some cash she lifted off a group of Girl Scouts.” As he tells the story, he continues to lead her in time with the music, his face lighting up with the memory.

“What she didn’t tell us,” Fangs adds, “was that she had signed us up, too.” Toni has always said they were like brothers, but now Cheryl sees it for herself. The way they talk about her is exactly the way Jason used to talk about her, nothing but unconditional love and a tone that seems to say ‘we were lucky that Fate allowed us to grow up together.’

“So, we know a little bit of the basics. However much we learned before Toni found out about the recital and, more importantly, the recital costumes and booked it outta there.”

“You didn’t have to do it,” Toni insists. Fangs rolls his eyes and spins her out and back in, wrapping her in a hug.

“Who could say no to those big brown eyes?” Sweet Pea voices Cheryl’s thoughts exactly. Toni shrugs, grinning.

“Use what you got, right?”

“That’s right.” Sweet Pea lets go of Cheryl as the song comes to an end.

“We’ll let you girls get back to it.”

“Well, you were a surprisingly competent partner, Pea.” Cheryl stands on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek, which he rubs off, blushing.

“Careful, Red. Don’t want people think you’re shacking up with a Serpent, right?” Fangs taunts.

“Not this particular Serpent, no,” Cheryl volleys back. Toni raises her eyebrows, surprised. “I’m kind of tired, I’m going to go inside for a while.”

“I’ll join you,” Toni says immediately.

“We’ll be out here if you need anyone else thrown out,” Sweet Pea offers.

“I’ll be sure to let you know. Especially if I tire of this one,” Cheryl deadpans, nodding to Toni.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily, darling.”

* * *

 

Somewhere between two and three in the morning, Cheryl starts to doze, shifting in Toni’s lap to rest her head on her shoulder. Toni grabs a blanket from the back of the couch and wraps it around both of them, running her hands through Cheryl’s hair while she continues her conversation with one of the only people still conscious at the house.

“I’m just saying, if I had known it was you I might not have done it,” she tells Betty, who huffs, disbelieving.

“You were robbing a Northsider Girl Scout, it didn’t matter who it was, you still would have done it.” Cheryl had recounted the story she’d heard from Sweet Pea, and Betty had realized she was an unnamed character in the story.

“Okay, that may be true. But it’s not like I stole candy from a baby, we were the same age!” Toni exclaims. Cheryl whines at the noise, her eyes fluttering open for a second. Toni presses an apologetic kiss to her temple, purposefully ignoring Betty’s look of exasperation.

“Still, it wasn’t nice,” she hisses.

“We can’t all be the girl next door, Cooper.”

“Yep, there’s only one of you.” Jughead appears from the coat room with their jackets, looking to Betty. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Betty says, standing up. “When Cheryl wakes up tell her that I had a nice time and thank her for the invitation.”

“Seeing as I’m your childhood villain, how can you trust that I will?”

“Cheryl will be happy to hear it and you’ll do anything if it will make her happy.” Betty’s words are as self-assured as they are true. Jughead nods to Toni as they make their exit.

“See you on Monday,” Toni calls out to them, she winces at her own volume in the silent room. Cheryl stirs again, this time sitting up fully.

“I was almost asleep,” she whines.

“I’m sorry, I know that’s frustrating.” Toni pulls the fallen blanket up again, inviting Cheryl to lean against her and sleep once more, but she doesn’t move.

“Speaking of frustrating,” she starts, staring at Toni with curious eyes. Oh. What a way to change the subject. “What is it like?”

“What is what like?”

“I mean,” Cheryl starts again, leaning her head back down on Toni’s shoulder. “What does it feel like to – ”

“Great party, Cheryl. See you on Monday.” Veronica is surprisingly chipper for a late – early? – as it is.

“Drive safe,” Toni replies, a little frustrated. She was about ninety percent sure where Cheryl’s question was going when they had been so politely interrupted. Archie nods to her, jingling the keys to his dad’s truck in his hand.

“Are you riding home soon, Toni?” he asks gently. “We can follow you to make sure you get home safe.”

Toni looks to Cheryl. She hadn’t asked about staying over, but their conversation at school had implied that –

“How noble of you, Archibald. Noble, but unnecessary. Toni is staying here tonight,” Cheryl says sweetly. Archie furrows his brow, looking remarkably like his father, but seeks no further explanation.

“Goodnight, ladies. Get to bed soon, will you?” Veronica winks before leading Archie out the door. Archie closes the door softly behind him and Toni watches through the glass as they walk through the back yard, picking up scattered plastic cups and tossing them into the strategically placed bins, hollering point values for each shot made.

When at last Fred Andrew’s truck turns over and rumbles out of the drive, Toni turns back to Cheryl.

“What was it you were going to ask?”

“I don’t remember.” It’s a lie and they both know it. Cheryl tries to play innocent but breaks slightly, allowing a shadow of fear to cross her face.

“Hey, you know you can ask me anything.” Toni clasps her hands around Cheryl’s tightly, relaxing when Cheryl buries her head in her neck.

“I was just wondering what it feels like, to have sex?” Cheryl’s voice weakens with every word, so that Toni can barely hear her by the end.

“Just in general, or do you have someone specific in mind?” Toni asks lightly, hoping to ease the tension. Cheryl groans against her, giving her a playful swat for good measure.

“I’m serious,” she whines.

“Fine, sorry. To answer your question, it can feel incredible if you’re with the right person at the right time.” With every word, Toni fights the urge to think about their several unfinished ventures, but it seems she’s not alone as Cheryl stands for a moment to sit back down, now straddling Toni’s lap.

“How do you know, when it’s the right time? Or the right person?” she whispers lowly. Toni responds by running her hands up Cheryl’s splayed out skirt, up her perfect thighs, stopping only when her fingers reach the edge of a pair of lace boyshorts.

“I think you know when you both want it,” Toni breathes. “When it’s all you can think about.”

“When it’s all you can think about,” Cheryl repeats thickly. Nodding, Toni pulls one hand back from under her skirt and places it on the back of her neck, pressing down slightly. Cheryl complies, allowing Toni to pull her into a soft kiss.

It’s a feeling Toni knows she’ll never tire of, kissing Cheryl Blossom. After a few moments, they part and Toni turns her attention to Cheryl’s neck, planting kisses and harmless bites across every inch. Cheryl responds enthusiastically, humming appreciatively and carding her hands through Toni’s hair.

“Toni!” Cheryl gasps against her when she bites down in one spot, sucking until she’s certain to bruise.

“Do you want me to stop?” she mumbles, praying she won’t have to. Already, there’s a warmth coursing through Toni’s veins, growing stronger with every kiss.

“God no,” Cheryl says hurriedly. “Just…if you’re going to act like an animal, at least don’t leave marks where people will see them.”

“Okay well…” Toni tugs slightly at the hem of Cheryl’s dress.

“If it’s in your way, get rid of it.” Cheryl seems to be purposefully vague as she leans down to kiss her. Toni hums against her lips, running one hand up her back, feeling inarticulately for a zipper.

“Believe me, I will, but maybe we should transition to a room with a bed?” Hope creeps into her voice, much to Toni’s chagrin.

“Whatever for?” Cheryl feigns innocence, but already she’s climbing off Toni’s lap. Toni watches her, awestruck, as she struts to the stairway, before realizing with a start that she’s supposed to be following. She hops to her feet and chases after Cheryl, who starts running, laughing as she turns a sharp corner onto the staircase. Toni grabs the last column of the banister and pivots, sliding across the hardwood with a squeak.

Above her, there’s a giggle and a flash of red. Toni growls and bolts upwards, skipping steps until she makes it to the third-floor landing. Cheryl has already disappeared into her bedroom, so Toni takes just a moment to survey the other rooms on the floor. There’s a small study, a few guest bedrooms and a room covered in Bulldogs paraphernalia, obviously intended for Jason when he visited Nana Rose.

“Cheryl?” Where are you?” Toni calls when she doesn’t see her in the bedroom at the end of the hall.

“I’m in the bathroom,” Cheryl replies. “Just slipping into something more comfortable. I’ll just be a minute.”

“Okay, take your time.” Toni sits awkwardly then on the edge of the bed, then stands back up. Is sitting on the bed too presumptuous? Or is tonight a foregone conclusion? Should she undress or stay as she is?

In the end, Toni decides to at least pull off her shoes and take a seat once more on the bed.

* * *

 

Inside the bathroom, Cheryl changes into soft pink silk pajamas and nervously brushes through her hair. It’s now or never she decides. Either she is going to go through with this and determine once and for all if her tendencies – if Heather – had been real, or she is going to lock that door and throw away the key.

“Okay, I’m ready.” She cracks open the door and pushes it outward. She watches as Toni studies her loose hair and face free of makeup. Cheryl is used to scrutiny but with Toni it’s different. She never feels judged like she would if it were her mother inspecting her.

“You are so beautiful,” Toni says softly. Cheryl smiles a genuine, heart-exploding smile, one she hasn’t been compelled to give in months, maybe years.

“Thank you.” Cheryl walks towards Toni and sits next to her on the bed, looking her up and down in return. “You’re wearing too much.”

“I can fix that.” Toni goes to pull off her crop top but she stops when Cheryl reaches out to delicately touch her sides. She relishes the warmth of her skin, the defined muscles that clench slightly at her touch.

“Earlier, when Veronica was…touching you,” Cheryl starts, frowning slightly. Only she should be able to do this. Toni chuckles, which makes Cheryl’s frown deepen.

“Veronica was just messing around. There’s no need to be jealous. She’s with Archie and we’re…something.” It’s a risky move, to bring up the unnamed nature of their relationship at this moment in time but it is true. They are something, so there’s no way Toni would do anything with Veronica or anyone else.

“We’re something,” Cheryl agrees.

“That’s right.” Toni scoots backwards to sit in the middle of the bed. Cheryl follows her lead, finally laying flat against the comforter. She looks up at Toni who seems to be having a fierce internal debate. After a beat, she turns to crawl on all fours, her knees straddling Cheryl’s hips and her hands above her shoulders. Cheryl stares straight up at her, shocked by lust blazing in Toni’s eyes. Her heart pounds ever faster as Toni reaches for the top button of her pajama shirt.

“Is this okay?” Toni’s voice is hesitant and tender in an unbelievably charming sort of way. Cheryl nods. When the first button is undone, Toni dips down to kiss her newly exposed skin. Cheryl bites her lip to suppress a moan, feeling a bolt of heat run through her spine. Toni does the same with each button, first unhooking it and then placing gentle kisses down her chest and abdomen.

When the top is completely removed, Cheryl looks down, expecting Toni to pull at the drawstring of her shorts. Instead, she sees Toni sit back on her knees and reposition herself so that one leg sits in between her own. Toni then lays nearly flush against her, making her gasp when Toni’s thigh presses between her legs. On instinct, she wraps a leg around Toni’s pulling her even closer and kisses her desperately.

This time, Cheryl doesn’t bother to hold back the moan that rises from her chest. Toni responds in kind, rolling her hips slowly and deepening the kiss. Toni’s tongue slips into her mouth. Cheryl grabs at Toni’s hair urgently. Toni pulls away, with a smug look on her face that makes Cheryl crazy. She sits up for a second and kisses Toni, biting down on her lower lip in retaliation for the moment of pride.

“Easy tiger,” Toni laughs. “We’ve got all night.”

“How do you do that?” Cheryl asks breathlessly.

“Do what?”

“Make all this seems so easy and uncomplicated.” It’s a question Cheryl has been meaning to ask for weeks now.

“I don’t know. You’re easy,” Toni answers. Cheryl raises her eyebrows and Toni scrambles to correct herself. “Oh shit, not like that. If anything, you’ve been a bit of tease. I just mean, things with you are easier than most everything else in my life.”

“I see.” Cheryl is quiet then for a moment. So, Toni doesn’t see her an exhausting, complicated, overdramatic burden. That’s…new.

“Try to stop thinking for like five minutes, babe. I don’t want you to be so preoccupied that you have little recollection of your first time.” As Toni speaks, she tugs at the drawstrings of Cheryl’s shorts and in an instant, the ache forming in her core is raging once more. All she can think to do is nod, watching intently as Toni pulls the shorts down to her ankles and carelessly throwing them over her shoulder.

“I swear, I’ll never get over how perfect your legs are,” Toni mumbles so that Cheryl can barely hear it, placing a kiss on her knees. Cheryl wants to scream. Being cautious and respectful is one thing, but this almost torturous. Toni shifts incrementally forward, punctuating each movement with a kiss until, at last, her lips meet the edge of Cheryl’s underwear.

“Toni, please,” Cheryl whines. The look she gets in response is so smug, Cheryl wants to whack Toni with a pillow.

“Is there something you need, Red?” A hundred nicknames and yet in this moment, she chooses the least inventive, most overused one ever that every living redhead has heard and, even more frustratingly, manages to make it feel so special.

“Just get on with it,” she huffs finally. Toni nods, grinning and slips her delicate fingers in the waistband of her underwear, pausing a moment before removing them. Cheryl sits up on her elbows for a moment and slides backwards to the head of the bed, making space for Toni to settle between her legs.

Oh god, it’s really happening. Cheryl looks down for a moment, then upwards to the ceiling. Is it weird to watch, or is that expected?

Because she isn’t looking and possibly because she can sense Cheryl overthinking, Toni chooses that exact moment to press a kiss to the inside of her thigh while running her thumb across Cheryl’s soaked center.

“Fuck, baby, you’re so wet,” Toni nearly moans. Cheryl feels her face reddening, but she cannot find it in herself to be too embarrassed, and she doesn’t face time to, as Toni leans down to run her tongue through Cheryl’s wet heat, making her mind go completely blank.

Toni continues and distantly, Cheryl can hear moaning, only vaguely aware that it is her own voice. Her hands search frantically for an anchor, first in her sheets and then Toni’s hair. Toni’s grip on her thighs is so tight it borderlines on pain in the sweetest way.

With each motion of Toni’s tongue, Cheryl feels her back arching as she nears the edge.

“Fuck, oh fuck. I…Fuck, Toni, I think I’m going to…” Cheryl usually doesn’t curse this much but, in this moment, her vocabulary seems to be limited to swearing and Toni’s name.

Cheryl feels herself starting to lose control when Toni stops dead. Cheryl looks down at her, taking in her worshipful eyes, pupils blown. She leans down once more and starts in again, all the time looking up at Cheryl, who finds herself unable to look away.

And then, all at once, it’s too much. The feeling, the overwhelming feeling, combined with Toni’s eyes drilling into her and Cheryl comes undone with a broken scream.

The room around them is a hundred degrees and completely silent. The pounding in Cheryl’s chest starts to calm and exhaustion washes over her. She turns on her side, looks to the clock, and sighs. Three forty-five in the morning. Behind her, Toni settles in, wrapping her arm around Cheryl’s waist.

“I should reciprocate,” Cheryl realizes. She starts to turn back to Toni, who stops her.

“Not now, Cheryl. We’re both about to pass out from exhaustion.” Cheryl lays back down and shifts until she’s laying completely flush against her. She thought she would be embarrassed, to be completely naked and vulnerable like this, but it just feels right. If anything, she’s a bit annoyed by the skinny jeans still covering Toni’s legs.

“You can take off your jeans, you know? They’re not exactly comfortable to sleep in.”

“Okay, just didn’t want to make you uncomfortable or imply that I had any expectations,” Toni explains, sitting up to unbutton her jeans. Even after all that, she’s still thinking about what Cheryl wants and needs. It’s enough to make a girl swoon.

When they finally settle in to sleep, Toni asks a burning question.

“So, was it okay, your first time and all?” 

Cheryl wants to laugh or possibly cry. No one has ever treated her with such tenderness.

“Yes, Toni, it was perfect. I swear, I’ll feed your ego and sing you praises tomorrow, but right now I’m going to sleep and so are you.”

“Glad to hear it. Goodnight, Cheryl.” Toni’s voice in the darkness is like a lullaby, so powerful Cheryl barely stays awake long enough to reply,

“Goodnight, Toni. Sweet dreams.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there it is. Sort of. Who knows what will happen when the sun rises on our two girls currently sleeping in bliss?


	9. cheryl, you need to get to the hospital

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happenings at the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, this is long. I almost split this into two chapters but I couldn't figure out where to do it.

“Miss Blossom, you should get up now – oh.” The frantic voice wakes Toni, and in an instant, she’s sitting bolt upright, as is Cheryl, holding up the edge of the comforter to her chest to maintain some modesty.

“Oh shit,” Toni breathes, looking from the woman, presumably a maid, to the clock, that reads three in the afternoon, to Cheryl who looks frighteningly unconcerned. Bridget, a short, squat little woman in her late thirties, seems as unconcerned as Cheryl at the scene before her. Indeed, if she is at all surprised by Toni’s presence and the obvious reason for it, she does not let it show.

“Don’t worry, Toni. I trust Bridget to be discreet.” Cheryl’s words allow Toni to breathe once more. Fuck, that was close. “Now, Bridget, why should I be getting up?”

Bridget nods, remembering why she had barged in just moments ago. “It’s your mother, Miss Blossom. She and Miss Rose are coming down the drive now.”

“Oh, shit.” Toni is starting to feel like a parrot, but at the moment, it’s all she can think to say.

“You need to go,” Cheryl and Bridget tell her at once. Toni jumps up, modesty forgotten, and starts pulling on her clothes. She reaches for something on the floor and shoves it in the pocket of her Serpent jacket. She turns back to Cheryl, who is still sitting on the bed, naked underneath the covers. Toni wants to say something, but she doesn’t know exactly what.

“No time for goodbyes,” Bridget hisses, grabbing Toni’s arm. She drags her out into the hallway and into the small study she had seen the night before.

“Where are we going?” Toni whispers, unsure if Penelope is in the house yet. Bridget ignores her question, instead shoving the desk across the floor the reveal a trap door.

“What the fuck kind of house is this?” Toni mutters.

“A Blossom house,” Bridget answers simply. “Now, the ladder will take you between the walls, down into the root cellar. Be as quiet as you can and wait in the cellar until I come and tell you it’s safe to leave. You’ll need to walk your motorcycle to the far edge of the property before your start it.”

“How do you know about my – ”

“You climb the trellis nearly every day, romancing my Cheryl and driving Jason’s car. You will find, Antoinette, that there is little I do not know about you. Now, go.” Bridget shoves Toni towards the hole so that she nearly slips, but she gets the message. She climbs down a few rungs until her head falls below the level of the floor. Bridget shuts the trap door and Toni is plunged into darkness.

With each step, Toni takes one breath in, moving opposite hand and leg down a rung, then exhaling slowly and moving another step. In the darkness, with little concept of how far apart each rung is, she struggles to tell what floor of the house she’s on.

After what feels like half an hour, Toni’s boot finds instead of a rung, a solid floor. She feels around in the darkness until a her hands happen upon a handle. She tries turning it, but it seems to be rusted shut. Toni huffs and tries once more, putting her entire weight against the handle until it gives way with a deafening, metallic squeak. Toni winces, praying Penelope couldn’t hear it from wherever she is. The root cellar, she knows that but she has no memory of seeing a cellar door around the house.

Toni waits in the cold, damp room for a few minutes when she hears a scolding, newly familiar voice.

“No, Miss Blossom, you shouldn’t draw attention – ”

“Bridget, please, I appreciate the concern, but you know mother doesn’t care or notice what I do.” Cheryl’s voice is laden with cold understanding. Seconds later, blinding light floods into the cellar as the door is thrown open.

“Thank you, Bridget. I can take it from here.” Cheryl descends concrete steps as Bridget departs and stands to face Toni nervously.

“So, now you’ve met Bridget, keeper of house and secrets for the Blossom family.”

“Keeper of secrets?” In a family like this, what all did that include?

“Yes, she knows everything. She was Jason and I’s nanny when we were children. She’s always protected us, helped us keep things from our parents. I’m pretty sure it was Bridget who went out and bought the pregnancy test when Polly first suspected she was in a family way.” Cheryl reminisces pleasantly, and it’s nice for Toni to see her remember Jason without immediately breaking down, even if no one has said ‘in a family way’ for at least a century.

“So, she can be trusted to keep your dirty little secret?” Toni teases.

“You are not a dirty little secret. Even if you are little.” Cheryl straightens up, reminding Toni of the meager two-inch height difference between them. “And I suppose, you could potentially get dirty.”

The flirtatious tone brings to the forefront of Toni’s mind the exact reason she is standing in a root cellar.

“So, last night we…” she trails off.

“Yeah, we did.” Cheryl says, sounding wickedly proud.

“Was it a one-time thing or would you potentially want to do that again sometime?” Toni asks, reaching for Cheryl’s hand.

“That depends,” she teases. “Would you want to do it again?”

“Without question, babe.” Toni leans in to press a kiss to Cheryl’s jaw. “Fucking you is a good time.”

Cheryl gasps at her filthy, forward words. Toni gives her another kiss, this time on her neck, just below her ear, and continues. “Your reactions, the sounds you make when you c-”

“Toni!” Cheryl yelps, putting a hand over her mouth to keep her from saying any more. Toni relishes the color in Cheryl’s cheeks. Grinning underneath Cheryl’s hand, Toni can’t help but feel satisfied. When this had all started, it was just mock-flirting with a stupidly hot straight girl, and now…

“The coast is clear now.” Cheryl removes her hand and nods towards the open cellar. “You can go.”

Toni smiles and starts to walk up the steps when she turns back. Still a step above Cheryl, she enjoys the flip in height differences when she pulls her into a heart-stopping kiss. She pulls away, feeling a little smug when she sees the dazed look on Cheryl’s face.

Toni turns back towards the daylight and walks up the stairs.

“See you around, Blossom. I’ll call you.”

* * *

 

The call comes sooner than Cheryl expects. Just an hour after Toni’s left, her phone rings.

“Toni? What’s up?”

“Cher, hey, babe, I’m just calling to let you know that I’m not sure I’ll be at school tomorrow. Some stuff went down and I’m at the hospital. I’m fine but Sweet Pea…” Cheryl’s heart drops into her stomach. Sweet Pea, the gallant but unthinking Serpent, hurt bad enough to go to a hospital?

“Is he okay?” she asks. Toni sighs on the other end of the line.

“I don’t know. The doctors are with him now, but they won’t tell us much since we’re not legal family.”

“Okay, so who is his legal family?” Already, Cheryl’s mind is racing with thoughts on how best to help Toni and her brother.

“Good question. His dad is kind of an unknown entity and his mom, Seph, is in prison. Technically, he’s in the foster system but when he ran away from the foster home, they didn’t bother looking for him or reporting it to his case worker or whatever. Anyway, I gotta get back. I’m nearly on for my rotation guarding the room. Just thought I should let you know that I’m not ghosting you after last night.”

Of course, some uncaring foster parents thought they’d be better off collecting a check for Sweet Pea’s care and getting the Serpent out of their house.

“Please, I know you’re not a cad. Go, take care of what you need to. I’ll be praying for Sweet Pea.”

“You pray?” Toni sounds shocked.

“What do you think the P in WASP stands for, T.T.?”

“I don’t know. Preppy?”

“Protestant.”

“Right, well, I’ll call if I hear anything. Bye.”

“Goodbye.”

“Who was that?” Cheryl flinches at her mother’s sharp voice behind her. She takes just a second to compose herself and send up a prayer before turning around to face her.

“Just Betty, mother. We’re partners for a project in French. I’m going over there now to work on it.” The lie is elegant in its simplicity and delivery. Cheryl relaxes for a split second when her mother nods, seizing again with fear when her mother’s face twists in disgust.

“What is that?” Penelope hisses, pointing at the crook of her neck. Cheryl puts a hand to where her mother points, feeling the icy blast of guilt wash over her.

“I imagine you’re referring to the blemish Reggie Mantle left on me,” she lies hurriedly. “As I’m sure you’re aware from the mess Bridget has yet to finish cleaning up, I had a few houseguests while you were gone.”

Penelope seems to mull over Cheryl’s story for a moment, oscillating between an urge to punish her and relief that Cheryl is finally showing interest in a boy.

“JJ used to host parties for the football players and cheerleaders all the time.” Cheryl lays down the ace up her sleeve and grabs her bookbag. She knows that she will not be punished, when all her parents ever wanted for her was to be like Jason.

“Very well. You may go to Betty’s, but if her mother says a single word about this family, know that it is all lies.” Penelope’s eyes narrow as she gives her harsh instruction.

“Fine. I may be staying overnight and going to school from there, so I likely won’t see you until tomorrow evening. Goodbye, mother.” Cheryl barely looks back as she walks out the front door. The convertible is already in the driveway, as if Bridget knew she would be going soon.

* * *

 

“Hello, Mrs. Fogarty, I’m Cheryl Blossom.” Fangs’ mother looks at Cheryl through the screen door with guarded curiosity.

“I know who you are, girl. What do you want?” she asks, holding a young girl, maybe eight or nine behind her.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, Sweet Pea is hurt. I was wondering if I could take Fangs a change of clothes, so he can stay at the hospital. I know you’re probably busy with the kids.” Cheryl tries her best to smile warmly, making it clear that she is not here as the Blossom heir, but as an ally. Mrs. Fogarty stares her down but relents.

“Come in. Be quiet, the triplets are asleep.” Cheryl follows her inside the trailer. Sure enough, three identical toddler boys nap together on the couch.

“I thought Fangs only had sisters,” she mutters to herself.

“Frederico does only have sisters, the boys are Joaquin’s baby brothers,” the little girl explains. Cheryl mentally tucks away the name Frederico for future taunting. “We watch them because Joaquin’s mom has a hard time sometimes.”

“Marisol, hush,” Mrs. Fogarty commands. The girl – Marisol – ignores her.

“I’m Mickey. You’re that girl Toni is always talking about, aren’t you?” The girl, who looks like a carbon copy of her mother, stares up at Cheryl expectantly.

“I haven’t the faintest clue. Now, can you please show me where I can get some clothes for your brother and maybe for Sweet Pea, if he has any here?” Cheryl feels her patience waning – she had wanted to be on her way to hospital by now.

“Yeah, come on.” Marisol leads Cheryl into a small bedroom with a full-size bed with a twin bed lofted above it and a dresser with four drawers. “The top drawer is Sweet Pea’s, the next one is Fangs’, the next one is Toni’s, and the last one is mine.”

Cheryl nods, and opens the top drawer to pick out an outfit. It’s a quick process, a choice of blue or black jeans and a handful of t-shirts.

“Thank you, Marisol. I presume you share this room with your brother,” Cheryl says, trying to make conversation as she moves on to Fangs’ drawer. She finds practically the same selection in each drawer, although in very different sizes.

“I already told you, I’m Mickey. Marisol’s just what my mom calls me. And yeah, we share a room. Our sister’s already out of the house, so it’s just us. Except for nights when Sweets and Tiny stay over. It’s okay though, I love Tiny, so I don’t mind sharing a bed with her. She reads me stories and sometimes she just tells stories of stuff that happens.”

Cheryl tries to take in the barrage of information, but Marisol – Mickey – just keeps talking. Cheryl takes use of the momentary distraction to open the bottom drawer, dismayed at the little girl’s similarly limited wardrobe. Next to a few pairs of jeans and leggings is a small pile of socks and underwear, a diary, a toothbrush and a hairbrush with different colored hairties around the handle. The meager collection is probably all Mickey’s personal possessions.

“I’m the one that put the drawers in that order. I think it should be in order of how tall we are. Fangs thinks I’ll have the drawer above Toni’s someday. And I know you’re that girl she talks about because you have red hair and you talk funny.”

“I talk funny?” Cheryl is almost offended, but mostly curious.

“You do. Like the queen of England or something. Plus, you’re _pulchritudinous_.” Mickey struggles through the last word and Cheryl laughs.

“Do you even know what that word means, Mickey?” Cheryl puts her clothing selections in her bag and stands to leave.

“I asked my teacher at school and she said it means beautiful. It’s the word Toni uses when she’s talking about somebody she likes but she doesn’t want me to know, only I think it confused Sweet Pea more than it confused me,” Mickey explains.

“So, Toni said I have red hair and talk funny, and that I’m beautiful?” Cheryl doesn’t know why surprise is creeping into her voice; she has always known she was beautiful.

“Yeah, and I guess she was right.” Mickey looks her up and down appraisingly before making her decision.

“How sweet of you,” Cheryl says politely. “You’re very pretty yourself. You look-”

“Just like my mother, I know,” Mickey says dully.

“It’s not a bad thing, you know. Family is important.” Chery thinks briefly of Jason, their shared eyes and hair.

“Do you have what you need, girl?” Mrs. Fogarty stands in the doorway, looking wary.

“Yes, of course. Is there anything else you would like me to take to Fangs? A message perhaps?” Cheryl feels a little uncomfortable under her watchful eye, looking at her like she cannot be trusted. The Serpents know better than to trust a Blossom, she supposes.

“Just tell him and Toni to keep a good look out, and not to come home until Sweet Pea is discharged. If you see Sweets, if he’s awake,” Mrs. Fogarty’s voice shakes slightly. “Tell him to be good and come back home to Ma.”

Cheryl eyes well up a little as she nods her assent. “Of course, I’ll tell them. I must get going.”

“Bye, Cheryl!” Mickey waves from inside the screen door.

“Goodbye, Mickey. It was very nice to meet you, Mrs. Fogarty.” Cheryl reaches out to shake her hand and she takes it, shaking briefly and still looking extremely nervous.

* * *

 

Toni stands stoically by the nurses’ station, looking in every direction periodically, making note of every visitor and staff member walking through the halls. She looks down the hallway towards the surgical wing, where F.P. stands in position. Hogeye stands guard outside the room where Sweet Pea will be, provided he doesn’t…

God, Toni can’t even think about that right now. Inside the room, Fangs is sleeping on the visitor’s cot, resting before his turn. Toni turns to her left again and takes role, a blonde nurse, an elderly woman reading to a coughing child, two weeping sister, and…

“Cheryl? What are you doing here?”

“I came to bring you guys a change of clothes and some food.” Chery holds up her bookbag and a large takeout bag from Pop’s, shaking it slightly.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Toni says gratefully, already reaching for the Pop’s paper bag. She fishes out a burger and digs in, humming happily at the hot, greasy bite. Having slept all day until the attack, Toni hasn’t had a bite to eat since early yesterday.

“God, Toni, slow down. You’re going to choke.” Cheryl looks at her in mild disgust.

“Only if you’re into that, babe.” Toni winks and Cheryl flushes bright red.

“That’s not…we’re not talking about that right now. What actually happened to Sweet Pea?” Cheryl looks shaken, and Toni knows she’s cataloguing the bruises forming around her left eye.

“For that, you’re going to have to talk to Fangs. I can’t be distracted for this long, I’m sorry,” Toni adds at the end. Serpent rules bind her to that spot for the next hour at least or until F.P. relieves her.

“Okay, I’ll go in and talk to him. Which room?” Toni is grateful that Cheryl doesn’t question it, and hopes she’ll go along with one more request.

“2137, but before you go in there, can you deliver some of this to F.P. and Hogeye? They probably haven’t eaten either. I should be done in about an hour and then I’ll come talk, if you’re still around.” Toni hopes she isn’t asking too much of her.

“I’ll still be around,” Cheryl assures her.

* * *

 

“Hey, Fangs,” Cheryl says softly to the boy, sitting on the cot and staring out the window.

“What are you doing here, Red?” Fangs sounds remarkably like his mother.

“I came to see how you guys were doing, to see if there was any way I could help,” Cheryl explains. Fangs scoffs, still not looking at her.

“I stopped by your house to get you a change of clothes, and there was stuff there for Toni and Sweet – ”

“Don’t say his name,” Fangs growls. Cheryl freezes, dropping her bag on the floor.

“I’m sorry this happened.” She tries to sit next to him and offer some invisible comfort, but all he has is rage.

“Are you? It’s not like you really care about us. You’re just using Toni, you don’t care about her,” Fangs starts, his volume rising with each word. Cheryl tries not to cower under the shadow of his large frame. “You don’t care about me and you definitely don’t care about Sweet Pea! He could die and you’re here to see if you can help?!”

All at once, the reality of his own words seems to hit him.

“Oh god, he could die,” Fangs repeats, choking back a sob. Cheryl steps forward nervously and pats him on the shoulder and then the strangest thing happens. Frederico ‘Fangs’ Fogarty, the hardened Serpent and loyal friend, breaks, collapsing into Cheryl.

Cheryl wants to comfort him, to tell him that it will be okay, but right now, with no idea of what has actually happened to Sweet Pea, she can’t. Instead she just starts talking.

“I met your little sister, and your mom, when I went over to your house to get a change of clothes. I didn’t realize the Fogarty house was a youth hostel for troubled young Serpents. Mickey told me all about how all four of you share that room.” All the while she’s talking, Cheryl runs her hand awkwardly up and down Fang’s back.

“Who knows?” Fangs says bitterly. “Sweets may never come home.”

Suddenly, Cheryl remembers the message from Mrs. Fogarty.

“Your mom wanted me to tell you and Toni to be good lookouts and to not come home until Sweet Pea is discharged.”

Fangs gives a wet laugh and sits up.

“Yeah, that sounds like Ma. I’m pretty sure she likes Sweets better than her own kids. He always helps with the dishes.”

“He’s one of the good ones,” Cheryl agrees. Fangs nods soberly and wipes a few errant tears from his cheek. Cheryl procures a handkerchief from her purse and takes it gratefully.

“I’m sorry I said all that, Red. I just don’t get you. You wanted us gone from day one and now you’re here. You went inside my home, which is probably smaller than your shoe closet?” Cheryl is relieved to hear Fangs crack a joke, even if he is nearly right.

“I don’t know, someone _pulchritudinous_ changed my mind,” she explains, not bothering to specify with Toni’s name. They both know to whom she is referring.

“Mickey told you about that, huh? Yeah, we figured out pretty quick that talking over her head wasn’t going to work. She’s too damn smart.”

“She is rather precocious. And that’s not the only thing she told me, Frederico,” Cheryl adds, laughing.

“Damn it, Mick,” Fangs mutters. “Now, you said you have food?”

“That I do. The bag from Pop’s is over there. After you eat, could you please tell me what the hell happened out there and why there’s three Serpents standing guard throughout the hospital?”

Fangs walks across the room and grabs the bag, pulling out a container of fries. Cheryl observes him as he checks his watch and immediately starts wolfing down the fries.

After a minute, the fries are gone and he starts in on a tenderloin sandwich, slowing down long enough to explain.

“The three of us were walking the perimeter of Sunnyside trailer park, like we’re supposed to on Sunday evenings. Our job is to, once a week, take a headcount, make sure folks have been paying their utilities, keeping up with maintenance, that kind of thing so we know who might need some help. The Serpents can usually rustle up money to make sure the lights stay on, especially if there’s kids in the house.”

Guilt rises in Cheryl’s chest. She’s lived her whole life in excess, while these people, just miles down the road, have relied on a gang to keep the water running.

“Anyways, we got to the east end of the park, bordering on Ghoulie territory when we got jumped. Some of the same guys that tried to bust into the Wyrm, and they came prepared. Two of ‘em wrangled me and Toni and made us watch while they beat the life out of Sweet Pea.” Fangs voice is still thick with tears as he recounts the attack.

“Why did they make you watch?” Cheryl finds herself asking. “Why not just beat you up too?”

“Ghoulies don’t traffic in common sense, but they do know how to send a message.”

“Even the strongest among you are in danger,” Cheryl assumes. Fangs bows his head.

“Right, and that they don’t discriminate when it comes to killing kids. They sure thought he was dead, and so did we, so they bailed, and we called 911, probably more out of denial than anything else. The medics got there and after that it’s kind of a blur.”

“You passed out. Nearly knocked me on my ass when you went down.” Cheryl whips around at the sound of Toni’s voice. She stands in the doorway, looking haggard and hurt.

“What are you doing not at your station?” Fangs demands. Toni puts her hands up in surrender.

“Chill, Fogarty. Bolt took F.P.’s spot and he took mine. You won’t have to go out there for a while.” Toni walks over to the cot and sits in the minimal space between them. She slumps against Cheryl, who takes the opportunity to put an arm around her waist in silent support.

“You still haven’t explained that part,” Cheryl reminds Fangs.

“Right. We find ourselves at the hospital more than the general population, so we have some rules. One person stands lookout by the assigned room, one by the nurses’ station, and one as close to the patient and their doctors as possible.” As Fangs lays out the rules, Toni takes Cheryl’s hand off her abdomen for a second and presses as kiss to her knuckles. Cheryl feels herself blush at the public display and Fangs’ wide eyes, but continues her line of questioning.

“But why do it? I can’t imagine the doctors take very kindly to intimidation.”

“It’s not meant to intimidate the doctors,” Toni interjects. “We’re making sure the Ghoulies don’t come to finish the job. With the three lookouts, they can’t kill Sweet Pea, can’t wait in his room to kill him, and can’t attack the nurses if they come looking for him.”

“And that’s happened? They’ve come to the hospital to finish killing someone, in front of cameras and witnesses?” Cheryl can hardly imagine the

“Once.”

Fangs and Toni jump to their feet, at the sound of F.P.’s voice, leaving Cheryl to turn around in confusion.

“Once, and that was one more time than it should have. Malice tried to stop the bastard, but it was too late. Frankie deserved better than that,” F.P. says darkly.

“Uncle Frankie was my Ma’s brother,” Fangs adds.

“Malice was there? I met her a couple weeks ago,” Toni says mysteriously. F.P. laughs, disbelieving.

“You met the legend? And here I thought she was gone forever.” Cheryl looks between them, who seem to be speaking in code. F.P. talks about this Malice as if she were dead, yet somehow Toni just met her? If Fangs understands any more than Cheryl does, he doesn’t let on.

“Yeah, I met her, and in the most unlikely place. Who would have thought serpents could nest that far north?” Toni’s voice is tinged with bitter jealousy.

“That’s enough, Toni,” F.P. commands. “Now, Blossom, what are you doing here?”

“She’s already heard it from me, leave her alone.” Toni looks to Fangs in surprise but doesn’t comment. Cheryl feels extremely out of place as she watches the silent debate between Fangs and the Serpent King.

“Fine. Now, I’ve managed to get an update from the doctors. Sweet Pea is in surgery, might be a couple more hours. He’s pretty banged up but he’s gonna live.”

“Oh thank god,” Cheryl breathes. She watches as Fangs picks Toni up into a crushing hug and sets her back down. They stay that way, in a tight embrace, for a long moment, interrupted only when Cheryl’s phone starts to ring.

“Oh, sorry, I meant to put it on silent when I got here,” she apologizes, reaching into her pocket to pull out her phone. She’s just about to decline the call when she sees who it’s from. She presses accept and puts the phone to her ear.

“Betty? What’s going on?”

“Cheryl, you need to get to the hospital!” Betty sounds like she’s shouting through a tunnel. The Serpents in the room stare at her, so she walks out into the hall.

“I’m already here. Why? Are you okay?” Cheryl curses the fear in her voice, the fear which multiplies as she hears a scream in the background.

“I’m fine, it’s Polly!” Cheryl’s heart drops to the pit of her stomach. “She went into labor and things are moving really fast.”

“Do you need me to call an ambulance?” In the background, Cheryl hears Polly cry out again. Toni appears from the room, looking puzzled. Cheryl puts up a hand as she listens to Betty’s frantic explanation.

“No, we’re in one right now, just meet us by the emergency entrance. I just home little Beatrice and Bernard aren’t born before we get there.” In the background, Cheryl hears Polly huff in disgust, “I am not naming them that!” which is so desperate and unnecessary that it makes her laugh.

“Okay, I’m already in the emergency wing so I’ll see if they have a room assigned to her yet and wait there,” she says evenly, despite the pounding in her ears.

Polly’s voice rings through once again, a resolute “No! Give me the phone!”

“Cheryl,” Polly pants, “you need to get gowned and gloved. I want you there in the delivery room.”

Cheryl swallows, paling at the very idea. She’s heard horror stories of the kind of things that can happen in the room. Toni must sense her fear because she reaches out to hold her hand.

“Okay, I’ll go get ready. Just, breathe or something. Goodbye.” And with that, Cheryl hangs up.

“What’s going on?” Toni asks, grabbing Cheryl’s other hand to face her straight on.

“That was Betty. Polly’s going into labor. Jason’s babies, their babies, are going to be born. I have to go, I have to…” she trails off, still rocked with fear. Toni looks at her with wide eyes because of course this would happen tonight, of all nights, when Sweet Pea is hurt and they still haven’t talked about last night.

“Okay, let’s get you your purse and then we’ll figure out where you need to go.” Toni’s instructions calm Cheryl a bit. She works best with a plan. Still a bit dazed, she follows Toni back into room 2137 and grabs her purse while Toni explains what’s going on.

“I don’t think they’re going to let you take that into a sterile field, but if you leave it here, we’ll keep it safe,” Fangs says politely.

“Okay, um,” Cheryl starts. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone but there’s more food in the bag. The fries have probably gotten cold. There’s, um, clothes in the bag. I brought a change of clothes for both of you and for Sweet Pea, when he gets discharged.”

“Cheryl.” Toni tries to interrupt but her rambling continues, as if she has lost control of her own voice.

“If you can try to give me updates, that would be good, and um, I hope he’s okay. Oh, and Mrs. Fogarty wanted me to tell him to be good and come home, so please, if you could – ”

“Cheryl,” Toni says, more forcefully this time. Cheryl looks at her helplessly. “It’s going to be alright. Thank you for bringing the clothes, we’ll pass that message along to Sweet Pea. Go, enjoy this. You only get to become an aunt once.”

“An aunt,” Cheryl repeats. She’d nearly forgotten that having an almost-sister-in-law give birth to your dead brother’s kid comes with a title. That’s kind of fucked up, but it’s also kind of nice. Toni is looking at her with a wide smile, which she mirrors automatically.

“Go on, darling,” Toni says sweetly. And then, in front of God and everybody, Toni kisses her. Cheryl hums against her lips, feeling her pulse begin to slow. Toni breaks away, coming down from her tiptoes with a clack. Cheryl can feel F.P. and Fangs’ eyes on them but she can’t find it in herself to care. Her gauge for fear is well past full this evening.

“Have a nurse or someone call my mother, please,” she instructs.

“I can call Penelope,” F.P.’s offer may be well-intended, but it’s a bad idea all the same.

“She won’t want to hear from you,” Cheryl says coldly. Mr. Jones hangs his head, giving a decent display of shame.

Cheryl walks out of the room and to the nurses’ station, taking note of the unfamiliar Serpent standing guard there. The nurse leads her to a room where she scrubs her arms with iodine and is dressed in a gown and scrub cap. The nurse gives her a pair of sneakers to wear so she doesn’t have to stand the several hours this could take in heels.

The nurse and Cheryl stand in silence until, ten minutes later, the door burst open. The nurse pulls Betty and Mrs. Cooper into the side room where she had changed to get them cleaned up and ready, while the nurses who had accompanied them changed Polly into a hospital gown.

A second later, the doctor comes in.

“Okay, Polly, I’m Dr. Hall,” she says warmly. “I’m just going to take a look and see how far along you are.”

“Okay,” Polly nods. “Cheryl, can you come here?”

At the sound of her name, Cheryl steps forward, clutching Polly’s hand. It occurs to her that Jason should be doing this. It should be him, with his big, comforting hands holding Polly’s while he stands there, terrified and elated.

“Oh, okay,” Dr. Hall says, sounding more shocked than one might strictly want in their doctor. “I can see the top of Baby A’s head, so take a second and then you’re going to push.”

“You’re going to be okay, Polly,” Betty says, entering the room. Immediately, she takes Polly’s other hand, possibly to position herself away from the gore.

“Yes, honey, it’s all going to be alright,” Mrs. Cooper adds. She stands at the end of the bed, obviously unafraid of seeing the miracle of life.

“Okay, Polly, I’m going to count to three and then you’re going to push,” Dr. Hall instructs. Polly nods, slumping her head back on the pillow. “One, two, three – push!”

Polly clamps her hand down on Cheryl’s like a vice grip. To Cheryl’s relief, Betty also looks like she’s holding back a grimace.

She can’t tell what exactly is happening down there, but Mrs. Cooper’s eyes are glistening with tears. Cold fear courses through Cheryl’s veins, until at last the doctor speaks.

“Okay, one more push, and Baby A will be all the way out. One, two, three – push!”

A cry rips through Polly and once again Cheryl’s hand feels like it’s going to turn to dust. Somewhere at the end of Polly’s cry, another cry breaks out, higher and purer. The voice of her niece or nephew, making their first impact on the world. Cheryl feels a drop of something hit her hands, still clasped around Polly’s.

She’s crying, she realizes. Cheryl looks to Betty, who has tears streaming down her face as well.

“Mom, you can tell me,” Polly breathes. Alice puts a hand over her mouth, looking down at the child as the nurses rush to start cleaning them off.

“It’s a boy, Polly. You have a son.”

“That’s right, you have a son. Now it’s time to push again, Baby B is almost ready.” Dr. Hall looks at Polly encouragingly.

“Okay, I’m ready.” This time, Polly doesn’t wait for a count. She pushes again, grinding out a broken cry. Cheryl winces at the pain now throbbing in her hand and makes a mental note to ask for all legal drugs if and when she ever has children.

After one more push, Dr. Hall stands up, holding a messy, bald, tiny little human. Cheryl grips Polly’s hand as they register the distinct blueish color in the infant’s extremities.

“What’s wrong with my baby?” Polly sobs, sitting up. She nearly doubles over in pain, and Cheryl can’t tell if its more physical or emotional.

“Just one second, Polly. I believe there’s a little mucous in your daughter’s throat that’s making it hard for her to breathe,” Dr. Hall explains calmly, applying a rubber bulb-like tool to the baby’s nose and mouth. The tool seems to work as the baby lets out a throaty cry.

“My daughter…” Polly repeats reverently.

“That’s right. Now let us get her cleaned up. Are you ready to hold your son?” Dr. Hall asks. Polly puts a hand to her mouth, nodding vigorously as tears run down her face. A nurse hands her a bundle wrapped in a green blanket.

“He’s beautiful,” Betty whispers. Polly looks up at her sister, and then to Cheryl.

“He looks like Jason,” she whispers conspiratorially. Cheryl laughs and wipes the tears from her face.

“God, I hope so.” She looks down at the newborn in awe. If they’re being honest, he looks more like Polly right now, but that may just be because Polly still has a baby face at just seventeen. Still, there’s something in his nose that is all J.J.

“Smile, Polly, I’m going to get a few pictures,” Mrs. Cooper says, holding up her phone. Polly wipes away the sweat and tears from her face and smiles for the camera, while Cheryl and Betty retreat to the other side of the room.

“Can you believe it? We’re aunts,” Betty whispers, pulling her into a hug.

“I never thought… after Jason…I didn’t think I’d ever have a family like this again,” Cheryl admits. Betty is just enough taller than her, especially when she isn’t in heels, that her confession is met with a laugh and kiss on the forehead. Cheryl tightens the hug for a moment before letting go.

“God, she’s perfect,” Polly says, grabbing their attention as a nurse hands her a swaddled yellow blanket. Cheryl and Betty rush over to see the twins together for the first time.

“Do you have names for them?” one nurse asks, waving a pen over her clipboard.

“Juniper and Dagwood.” Polly gives the bizarre names with all the confidence in the world. Everyone in the room looks at her strangely until the nurse asks another question.

“How do you spell that?”

* * *

 

“Toni, wake up.” Fangs’ voice is urgent and Toni’s heart drops as she sits up with a start. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep.

“What’s going on? Is he – ” Toni can’t even bear to say it.

“No, Toni, he’s getting out of surgery.” Fangs smiles at her. “Now all we have to do is wait for him to wake up.”

“Oh, thank God,” she breathes, letting herself fall against his side in relief. Fangs puts an arm around her, and in an instant, she’s dozing again, this time without the stress and guilt of waiting.

“Hey, before you conk out again, you should probably check your phone, it’s dinged a couple times in the last ten minutes.” Toni grabs her phone and opens it to find a photo of two pink-faced infants, next each other in a bassinet, with the caption _I didn’t use to believe in love at first sight._

Toni clutches her chest in adoration before turning to Fangs.

“When is Sweet Pea supposed to be moved into the room?”

“Any minute now,” Fangs replies.

“Damn, okay.” Toni feels her plan flying out the window.

“He’s not going to wake up for hours, you can go.” Fangs looks at her knowingly. “But first, toss me her bag. I want to see if she actually brought me any clothes or if she got too distracted.”

“What would she be distracted by? Your room has exactly two pieces of furniture and nothing else.” Toni grabs the bag and chucks it to him, looking at him in confusion.

“Oh, nothing, just that Mickey told her about your little code for crushes. _Pulchritudinous_ ,” Fangs says, doing his best Toni impression. Toni stares at him in disbelief. “I can’t imagine she could even think straight after hearing that.”

“Shut up.” It’s not her most clever comeback but it does the job as Toni walks out of the room. She takes a moment to orient herself, reading the directory until she sees the arrow for the nursery. She takes off down the west corridor, breaking into a run when she sees two familiar figures.

“You’re not supposed to run in a – ”

If Betty finished her sentence, Toni doesn’t know. All she can see is Cheryl, glowing with a happiness she’s never seen on her before. Before she can stop herself, Toni leaps into Cheryl’s arms, wrapping her legs around her waist to stay balanced. Toni takes advantage of the rare height difference to lean down and press a soft kiss to her lips, the general public be damned.

“Sweet Pea is out of surgery, he’s going to be okay,” she says softly, her forehead resting on Cheryl’s/

“The twins are perfect. Both of them, five pounds, six ounces, nineteen inches of perfect,” Cheryl whispers back excitedly. This time, she initiates the kiss, which calms any worries Toni had about making her uncomfortable.

“Cheryl, dear - oh!” The saccharine, commanding voice is unmistakable. Toni breaks away and slides down, looking at Betty for some sign that she knows what her mother is going to do next. Betty shakes her head, wide-eyed, indicating that she also has no idea.

“Cheryl, dear, Polly would like to speak to you, if you’re not too…busy.” Mrs. Cooper, the hidden snake, talks about what she’s just witnessed as if she’d walked in on a business meeting and not Cheryl Blossom kissing a girl.

Cheryl looks even paler than usual.

“Certainly, Mrs. Cooper. Anything for Polly,” she says finally.

“Please, after what we’ve experienced tonight, I think you should feel free to call me Alice,” she laughs.

“Mom,” Betty says urgently. “Can I talk to you for a second?” Alice looks at her daughter, puzzled.

“Sure, Elizabeth. You can go on in, Cheryl.” Toni watches Cheryl head into the room while Alice takes a step towards her and Betty.

“Do I need to leave?” Toni asks uncertainly. Betty rolls her eyes.

“This involves you, too, obviously.” Maybe because her sleep schedule has been completely fucked by the last few nights, Toni finds herself disagreeing heartily with Betty’s definition of obvious. “Mom, you should know that anything you make have seen with Cheryl and Toni, you can’t tell anyone about it.”

Oh. That should have been obvious.

“Of course, dear, I would never tell someone else’s story,” Alice says, looking offended at the very notion.

“You printed Jason’s autopsy before his family even saw it. You’re a vicious journalist, your job is telling some else’s story. Actually, it’s _selling someone else’s story,_ but this one is off limits,” Betty commands, seeming to Toni as if she gets a little taller, her ponytail a little tighter with each word.

“You underestimate me, Elizabeth. I would never out someone. Besides, I went to school with Penelope. Even for the 90’s, she was…unenlightened. I would never tell her or anyone else if Cheryl’s a lesbian.” Alice speaks earnestly, putting Toni at ease.

“She isn’t,” Toni interjects. The Cooper women look at her as if they’ve only just remembered she is there. “I mean, she’s still figuring things out.”

“And you, you have things figured out?” Alice asks curiously.

“Mom, that isn’t any other your business.”

“No, it’s okay, Betty. I’m not a lesbian, I’m bisexual,” Toni explains. Alice seems to consider this for a moment.

“Your mom would have liked that, that her daughter was like her,” she says finally.

“You knew her mom?” “My mom was bi?” Betty and Toni’s exclamations overlap as Alice chuckles at their surprise.

“Yes, I…knew…her mother. And I don’t know that your mother ever used a specific word for it, but she was interested in a range of people. Now enough questions. I assure you, Cheryl’s secret is safe with me.”

“Thank you, Alice,” Cheryl says in a small voice.

“How much of that did you hear?” Toni asks her.

“Enough to know that Cousin Betty remains my hero,” she says charmingly. Betty blushes, looking to the floor.

“Stop with that aw, shucks act, Cooper,” Cheryl adds. Toni laughs, and Betty blushes even more furiously, which makes her laugh at herself. In a moment, all four girls are laughing, bordering on hysteria.

“God, what time is it?” Toni asks, still giggling.

“It’s a quarter to four,” Betty says, looking down at her watch.

“That’s my new favorite time of day.” Cheryl winks at Toni, who raises her eyebrows and grins.

“Mine too. Now, I need to go see if Sweets has been moved to his room yet. Do you want to come with?”

“Of course. I’ll be back to check in on the twins in a few hours, I suppose, on my way to school later this morning,” she tells Betty.

“Okay, we’ll be here. I think Jughead’s going to come by around the same time to check in on Sweet Pea and meet the twins.” Betty checks her phone, rereading her messages to confirm.

“He’s in 2137,” Toni provides. Betty nods and starts typing.

“Goodnight, girls,” Alice says warmly, heading back into Polly’s room, with her daughter following close behind.

“Goodnight, Alice, goodnight Betty.” As Cheryl says her farewells, Toni sees for the first time just how tired she is.

“Come on, Red, the nurses brought another cot to the room. Let’s go to bed.”

“So presumptuous,” Cheryl giggles. Toni rolls her eyes.

“Right, Miss My New Favorite Time.” Toni turns left at the end of the corridor and Cheryl grabs her arm, dragging her in the opposite direction.

“His room is this way. I guess you haven’t slept either.”

“Just for a few minutes, on accident. We’re supposed to stay vigilant.” Toni does her best impression of Ma Fogarty as she says it, which would be funnier if she didn’t choose that exact to come out of Sweet Pea’s room.

“Very funny. Get in there and get to bed. I still expect you three to go to school tomorrow,” Mrs. Fogarty instructs.

“How on earth do you expect Sweet Pea to – ” Cheryl starts.

“I meant you, Blossom.” Toni knows this tone, the finality in her voice, befitting of a mother of three and at least five extras. “No need to break your perfect attendance record over this. Sweet Pea is going to be just fine, as soon as he wakes up. You will attend your classes and return with the homework from Sweet’s classes. Now, to bed.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Cheryl says automatically. Toni is entertained, if a bit disconcerted, by her instinct of obedience. Ma Fogarty starts walking towards the cafeteria, probably to get coffee for the three on lookout.

Toni follows Cheryl into the hospital room and takes a seat on a chair by Sweet Pea’s bed. She takes hold of his hand gently, looking at her brother, paled by blood loss and bruised nearly everywhere.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?” Cheryl yawns, sitting down on the second cot. In the first, Fangs sleeps like a rock, as always.

“Not yet, but don’t stay up on my account.” Toni looks again to Sweet Pea, wondering for a moment what the line is between unconscious and asleep. Cheryl doesn’t protest, and lays down easily, turning onto her side.

“It’s cold in here,” she whispers in the dark room. Toni stands up, slipping off her jacket. She lays the warm leather gently over her and presses a kiss to her temple. Cheryl hums happily and starts to drift off to sleep.

Toni returns to her seat and picks up Sweet Pea’s hand again.

Cheryl was right. It is cold in there. Toni reaches for the bag of clothes and pulls out Sweet Pea’s favorite green flannel, the one she’d given him for Christmas. Grinning, she wraps it around herself and resettles on the chair.

“You need to sleep,” Ma tells her, returning to the room with a cup of tea. She offers a sip to Toni, who takes it gratefully and hands the cup back.

“Yeah, I know. Just a minute and I will.” Toni momentarily hates herself for sounding like a child trying to extend their bedtime. “You’re going back home soon, to be there before Mickey wakes up?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Tell the little brat we need to have a conversation about the consequences of a broken pinky promise,” Toni says, thinking of Mickey’s indiscretion regarding Cheryl. She looks to Cheryl, who sleeps soundly. Just last night she’d been someone else entirely.

It’s a wonder what just twenty-four hours can do.

“She’s a good girl, Toni,” Ma says knowingly.

“I know, Ma.” Toni settles back into the chair, still holding Sweet Pea’s hand.

* * *

 

Cheryl’s alarm goes off at six, reminding her to get ready for Vixens practice.

“Shut that thing up, will you?” a voice growls. Cheryl’s eyes snap open. She quickly turns off the alarm, looking around the room for the source of the voice.

“Sweet Pea, you’re awake!” she whispers, excitedly. He gives a smile that comes out more like a grimace. Fangs snores softly in his cot and, Cheryl rolls her eyes, Toni apparently slept in the chair next to Sweet Pea’s bed.

“Yeah, I’ve been slamming this button for ten minutes, but I don’t think I’m actually getting anything.” He holds up the device connected to his morphine drip.

“I’m sure it will take effect soon enough. Pressing the button more won’t help.” Cheryl feels a chill run through her and she picks up Toni’s jacket, which she’d thrown off in her rush to silence her alarm, and puts it on.

“It can’t hurt. Would you mind getting a nurse? I’m starving but I don’t know if I can eat yet.” Sweet Pea’s coloring looks much better than he had a couple hours ago, and it’s an incredible relief to see him conscious, but the daylight throws into relief the cuts and bruises on his face and arms.

“Yes, I can do that. Before I do though, I was supposed to give you a message from Mrs. Fogarty to be…”

“Be good and come home,” Sweet Pea cuts her off, repeating the words like an oft-heard recitation. Cheryl smiles and walks out into the hall. She flags down a nurse in the corridor on her way towards the nursery.

“What can I help you with, miss?”

“My, um, friend is in Room 2137. He wanted to know if his morphine drip is actually working and when he can eat, when you get a moment.” Cheryl feels a little silly, stumbling over the word friend. Still, it’s a new and bizarre development.

“Certainly, I’ll be in there in just a second. Can I help you with anything else?” the nurse asks cheerfully.

“No, thank you. I’m just going to the nursery.” Cheryl walks past her to the wide window showing a softly lit room, with a dozen or so infants in bassinets. She knows, in an instant, which ones are Juniper and Dagwood, the two babies laid together in one slightly larger than average bed.

“They’re so beautiful,” Betty whispers reverently, sidling up next to her.

“They’re perfect.” Cheryl pulls out her phone and sends a quick email, canceling Vixens practice. With three Vixens running on just two hours of sleep, practice would be at best, useless, and at worst, dangerous. Besides, she needs a little longer with the twins.

“Do you want to go in and hold them?” Betty offers.

“Are we allowed?” Cheryl asks nervously.

“Of course, we are. We just can’t take them out of the room.” Betty leads her into the room and picks up Juniper, handing her carefully over to Cheryl. She sucks in a breath, awestruck by the impossibly small little human in her arms. Dagwood starts to fuss, sensing the separation from his twin, until Betty picks him up. For a while, they just stand there, holding the babies, taking photos of each other and eventually taking turns with the other twin.

“I thought I’d find you here.” Cheryl turns around to see Toni beaming at her. “We need to get ready for school, darling.”

“You’re right.” Cheryl gently places Dagwood back in his bed and turns to Betty. “Are you riding with us to school?”

“I wouldn’t want to impose,” Betty says awkwardly.

“Oh, please. Fangs is coming with us too,” Toni explains.

“Oh, okay.” Betty puts down Juniper and grabs her bookbag from the corner of the room.

“Hey, didn’t you say Jughead was going to come by?” Cheryl asks suddenly.

“He did, about an hour ago. He said Sweet Pea was still asleep, that all of you were still asleep, and that the twins looked pretty much how newborns look.” Betty laughs a little as she recounts his thoughts on the matter.

The group rounds the corner towards Sweet Pea’s room, where Fangs waits for them outside.

“We ready?” he asks, yawning.

“No, I haven’t even changed yet.” Cheryl gestures to her wrinkled outfit. “Give me two minutes.”

“You couldn’t change in two minutes if your life depended on it,” Toni teases.

“Well, feel free to help me undress,” Cheryl fires back. It feels nice to return to their usual banter.

“Anytime, babe.” Toni winks, while Fangs and Betty wear identical looks of exasperation. Little do they know.

Cheryl steps into the room and grabs her bag, removing the outfit she’d picked for herself. She goes into the room’s small bathroom and clicks the lock. She looks in the mirror, frowning at the bags under her eyes. She’ll have to put on her makeup at school.

When she finishes getting dressed, into a an unusually casual outfit of black jeans and a red flannel, with sneakers instead of heels, she picks up Toni’s Serpent jacket. She should return it, but that can wait, at least until they get to school.

On her way out, Cheryl glances over to Sweet Pea, who’s fallen back to sleep. She presses a kiss to his forehead and sends up another little prayer for his health. Once out into the hallway, Fangs slams a button on his watch.

“And time!” he shouts. “Seven minutes, forty-two seconds. Better luck next time, Red.”

“Looks like you’re buying the coffee,” Betty teases.

“I wasn’t aware we had a bet, but okay.” Cheryl pulls her keys out of her purse and hands them to Toni.

“You look good in my jacket, Bombshell,” she says lowly. Cheryl feels her stomach twist at her husky tone. Smirking, she puts her hands in the pockets and does a spin.

“I do look good, don’t I?” Cheryl feels something in the right pocket, and fishes around to grab it. “Toni, what do you have in –”

“No, don’t!”

“ – your pocket.”

Cheryl stares down at her own hand blankly. The wad of black lace is intimately familiar.

She’s holding her own panties in her hand, blushing redder than her hair. She’s frozen, unable to react. After the longest second of her life, Toni rips the wad out of her hand and shoves it into her back pocket.

“Well I guess that answers that question,” Betty says finally. Fangs throws his head back, whooping, until a passing doctor shushes him.

Cheryl looks at Toni, who is blushing too, but looking a little proud. Cheryl berates herself for finding that stupid, smug look so damn hot.

“Sorry, babe,” Toni says, not sounding sorry at all, before leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. Fangs and Betty are still laughing and pulling out their phones, probably to text Sweet Pea and Veronica, respectively. Cheryl laughs gamely but swipes their phones as quick as she can.

“If you tell anyone, I’ll kill all three of you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not saying Alice Cooper experimented with Toni's mom but Alice Cooper experimented with Toni's mom.


End file.
